DENVER, Oct. 12, 1998 — At its Professional Developers Conference (PDC) in Denver, Microsoft Corp. will deliver guidelines for integrating applications with the Active Directory service of the Microsoft® Windows NT® Server operating system version 5.0. For the first time, The Baan Co. and SAP AG also will demonstrate versions of their applications that are integrated with Active Directory. At the PDC, thousands of software developers and independent software vendors (ISVs) will be given guidelines for creating great applications with
Windows NT Server 5.0 and for leveraging the Active Directory component fully. Microsoft will simultaneously post guideline information to the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN
™
) Web site.
By integrating their applications with the Windows NT Server 5.0 Active Directory, developers can build products that deliver greater functionality and lower total cost of ownership (TCO) to their users. ISVs that begin their integration work now will be positioned to enhance customer satisfaction and differentiate their products when Windows NT Server version 5.0 is released.
“Existing directory services have not seen significant support from developers, resulting in a lack of off-the-shelf directory-enabled applications for customers,”
said Jim Allchin, senior vice president of the personal and business systems group at Microsoft.
”
In contrast,
Windows NT Server 5.0 with Active Directory is already attracting large numbers of mainstream ISVs and corporate developers by making it easier to develop directory-enabled applications and by providing features that are not available from other server operating systems.”
The guidelines provided by Microsoft describe
“best practices”
information for developers to fully utilize Active Directory in their applications. Active Directory enables integration with a wide range of applications by providing scalability without complexity, standards-based Internet services, flexible security services and a comprehensive application development environment.
“In order to realize the value of directory services, customers need directory-enabled applications. By communicating guidelines to leading ISVs, Microsoft is ensuring that developers understand how to exploit the Windows NT Active Directory and create the directory-enabled applications customers need,”
said Jamie Lewis, president of The Burton Group.
“Defining clear guidelines now also ensures that customers will be able to purchase applications that exploit Active Directory soon after the release of Windows NT 5.0.”
Baan is committed to using Active Directory in its advanced enterprise applications to realize the benefits of mass collaboration and mass customization. The Windows NT Server 5.0 Active Directory provides Baan with a key shared service to exploit the company’s leading component architecture to connect people and technology in an anywhere, any time, any place internetworked environment.
“Baan considers the Windows NT Server 5.0 Active Directory to be a critical component in the Microsoft enterprise platform,”
said John Jendricks, senior vice president, global marketing and technology management for Baan.
“We expect to take a leadership role in our industry by being ‘ahead of the curve’ in terms of delivering Active Directory integration that provides real value for our customers.”
Building on development efforts that began in 1993 to support Microsoft platforms such as Windows NT and SQL Server
™
, SAP today demonstrated support for the Windows NT Server 5.0 Active Directory. With more than 6,000 SAP R/3 installations worldwide now running on Microsoft Windows NT Server and more than 50 percent of new R/3 sales shipping on Windows NT Server, SAP customers of all sizes and all in industries continually realize the benefits of collaboration with Microsoft.
“SAP believes that Windows NT Server 5.0 Active Directory-enabled applications will offer customers a combination of greater functionality and lower total cost of ownership,”
said Karl-Heinz Hess, executive vice president of systems technology development at SAP AG.
“What we are demonstrating at the Professional Developers Conference is just the beginning of the integration we have planned for Active Directory.”
New information about Windows NT Server 5.0 Active Directory integration can be found on the MSDN Web site at http://msdn.microsoft.com/developer/windows2000/default.asp . Additional overview information about Active Directory integration can be found in the white paper Lowering TCO With Active Directory-Enabled Applications, located on the Web at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/downloads/bin/nts/DEAVision.exe.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
Microsoft, Windows NT and MSDN are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
