CHICAGO, June 7, 1999 — At the Retail Systems 1999 Conference and Exposition, Microsoft Corp. and JDA Software Group Inc. today announced groundbreaking retail benchmarks, demonstrating the power, scalability and unprecedented price/performance of Microsoft® Windows® operating system-based solutions in the retail environment. With a single Windows NT® 4.0 operating system-based server and JDA’s retail transaction engine, 22 million retail transactions were processed in four hours, a throughput that could support the world’s largest retail enterprises.
A team of engineers from Microsoft, JDA and IBM Corp. tested JDA’s retail transaction engine on an IBM Netfinity 7000 M10 running Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 with a Microsoft SQL Server TM 7.0 relational database at Microsoft’s Usability Labs in Redmond, Wash. Simulating a tier-one retail environment with 2,500 stores and 500,000 live stock-keeping units (SKUs), the testing involved complex transactions typical of a large retailer’s day-end computing processes, including sales, returns, inventory movement, on-hand balance calculations, summary updates and mark-up/mark-down generation.
“Windows-based systems have always been known for ease-of-use and cost-effectiveness, but their scalability and throughput have taken longer to establish,” said Graham Clark, director of Product Industries at Microsoft. “These benchmarks are a testament to the improvements we’ve made to our platform and the solid nature of industry solutions such as JDA’s solutions. It’s even more positive to see enterprise retailers taking advantage of these technologies today to improve business efficiencies and better serve their customers.”
Based on the preliminary results of the benchmark tests, JDA plans to continue to dedicate research and development resources to this platform, which promises to deliver unrivaled price/performance, for its next generation of retail systems.
“We are committed to providing our current and future customers with the most innovative, robust solutions available in the retail industry. In achieving that goal, we must constantly evaluate and test technology platforms to ensure that they will complement and enhance the capabilities of our solutions,” said Scott Hines, senior vice president and chief technology officer at JDA Software Group. “We believe the Windows platform will be one of the leading enterprise business computing foundations of the next decade. Our recent testing with Microsoft proves that the combination of our technologies is a very compelling option for customers today, and will be for years to come.”
Microsoft, JDA Expand Technical Collaboration
Along with additional industry developers, customers and standards groups, Microsoft and JDA have worked together extensively for more than two years on the Microsoft ActiveStore TM retail technology architecture to develop a common retail integration framework. The two companies are now working more closely to develop innovative technologies for the retail industry.
Microsoft is helping JDA fine-tune the Windows enterprise platform, including Microsoft Windows NT and Microsoft SQL Server 7.0, the ActiveStore architecture and JDA’s offerings, to develop an extremely powerful and tightly knit combination of retail-specific technologies. As
part of this collaboration, JDA has constructed the new retail transaction engine that was used in the benchmark testing. Providing the lowest total cost of ownership for distributed transaction processing, this engine proves the viability of the Microsoft enterprise platform and solves the thorniest problem for the world’s largest retailers: achieving the timely and cost-effective update of huge transaction volumes.
Digital Nervous System for Retail
Microsoft is working with developers such as JDA, customers, and standards groups in the retail industry to provide the necessary tools and technologies to create a Digital Nervous System (DNS) for Retail. A DNS for Retail is the technical integration of store, enterprise and electronic commerce systems, so retailers can increase efficiency, lower costs, make quicker business decisions and better serve their customers. Components of a DNS for Retail are the Microsoft enterprise platform, including Windows NT, Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 and Windows CE; retail integration frameworks ActiveStore and OPOS for in-store systems and point-of-sale systems, respectively; and innovative line-of-business solutions such as JDA’s retail applications.
About JDA Software
JDA Software Group Inc. (Nasdaq “JDAS”) is a global provider of integrated retail software products and professional services for more than 600 clients worldwide. Designed to Optimize the Retail Enterprise, JDA’s solution addresses the requirements for the entire retail supply chain from corporate with merchandising, planning, allocation, decision support and financial systems; to the distribution center with warehouse management and logistics systems; at the store with point-of-sale and back-office applications; and on the Internet with Web-based solutions. Founded in 1985, JDA employs more than 1,100 associates operating from 20 offices worldwide. With headquarters in Phoenix, the company has offices in major cities throughout the United States as well as internationally in Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Singapore and Australia. For more information, interested parties can refer to JDA’s Web site at http://www.jda.com/ .
About Microsoft
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, Windows NT and ActiveStore 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.
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