Redmond, Wash., August 26, 1998 — Responding to information technology (IT) professionals’ requests for greater access to Microsoft technicians, resources and information, Microsoft today announced a $40 million investment in TechNet, a new technical resource and engagement program for IT professionals.
Today’s announcement is part of the overall $200 million dollar investment in systems and initiatives for customers announced by Steve Ballmer at Financial Analyst Day on July 23. It focuses on expanding the popular TechNet CD-ROM subscription, Microsoft’s leading technical resource used by more than 240,000 IT professionals. The expansion of TechNet includes more than 1,000 free quarterly technical briefings worldwide and the TechNet Web site, an online resource dedicated to meeting the needs of IT professionals.
TechNet provides IT professionals with clear, in-depth technical information and resources to install, deploy and support Microsoft products and to better engage with Microsoft and fellow IT professionals.
More than 500,000 IT professionals worldwide are expected to attend TechNet briefings this year to hear detailed how-to information directly from Microsoft’s technical professionals. Topics IT professionals will learn about in this quarter’s briefings include: Performance Analysis and Optimization of Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0; How to Build Internet Services Using Microsoft BackOffice; Introduction to Creating 3-Tier Intranet-Based Applications With Microsoft Internet Information Server.
The TechNet Web site provides easy online access to technical information and resources for IT professionals. Resource areas on the TechNet Web site provide information on topics such as year 2000, interoperability, intranet solutions, eCommerce, data warehousing, the Euro and total cost of ownership. Reference pages provide specific technical information and case studies on topics such as clustering, interoperability of the Windows NT operating system and UNIX, server migration planning and troubleshooting. Threaded discussions, online bulletin boards, technical chats and peer-to-peer white pages enable IT professionals to engage with Microsoft while fostering peer interaction, best-practice sharing and collaboration. In addition to online resources, the Microsoft TechNet CD-ROM, a monthly subscription product, includes more than 150,000 pages of technical information products such as the Microsoft BackOffice family, the Microsoft Office suite, Windows NT, the Windows 98 operating system, and Microsoft’s Internet service technologies (including Site Server, Proxy Server, Internet Information Server in Windows NT 4.0 and Microsoft Internet Explorer). The TechNet subscription is updated with more than 2,000 pages of new content each month delivering the latest service packs, resource kits, drivers, patches and utilities directly to the user’s desktop.
