SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 16, 2000 — Microsoft Corp. today announced that the hundreds of PC manufacturers worldwide that were providing Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Ready PCs are now preinstalling Windows 2000 Professional, Windows 2000 Server and Windows 2000 Advanced Server on their business desktops, notebooks and servers. Thousands of system builders are also preinstalling the Windows 2000 operating system on custom-built PCs and servers for the wide variety of small businesses migrating to this next generation of business computing.
Windows 2000 Global Launch Partners, Compaq Computer Corp., Dell Computer Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co., IBM Corp., Toshiba Corp., Cisco Systems Inc., EMC Corp. and Intel Corp., are demonstrating significant commitment to the platform by offering their customers a plethora of choices ranging from preinstalled systems to services and support that will help customers migrate from existing systems to Windows 2000.
“The innovative support and services from our Windows 2000 Global Launch Partners, Compaq, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Toshiba and Unisys, as well as hundreds of other PC manufacturers, will help customers migrate to Windows 2000,”
said Deborah Willingham, vice president of Windows Marketing at Microsoft.
“In addition, we are pleased to have industry innovators such as Intel, EMC and Cisco behind Windows 2000 as Global Launch Partners through their major commitment to helping Microsoft deliver the best computing experience to all of our customers.”
Through its strategic relationship with Microsoft, Compaq is able to provide customers an easy deployment and migration path to Windows 2000 while offering a broad selection of products and services.
“For more than two years, Compaq and Microsoft have worked together on the design, development and testing of many key Windows 2000-based technologies. Through this strategic relationship, Compaq is able to provide customers an easy deployment and migration path to Windows 2000 while offering a broad selection of products and services,”
said Peter Blackmore, senior vice president of Sales and Marketing at Compaq Computer.
Dell and Microsoft have worked closely throughout the development of Windows 2000 to ensure the new operating system meets the highest quality and reliability standards. Dell systems are fully tested and validated to meet Windows 2000 requirements. Dell offers robust services and programs as part of its Windows 2000 Premier Migration Program that address every stage of the customer adoption process to ease the transition to the new operating system.
“Dell is excited to provide Windows 2000, along with our outstanding Windows 2000 services, to our global customers. It continues to be a key component in Dell’s ongoing effort to bring the best technology solutions to the markets we serve. The expanded functionality and reliability of Windows 2000 will have an immediate impact on those who migrate early to the operating system,”
said Carl Everett, senior vice president of Personal Systems Group at Dell Computer.
“Once again, the fast time to market, custom build-to-order manufacturing and award-winning service and support that the Dell direct model delivers will help customers successfully make this technology transition.”
Hewlett-Packard has announced a comprehensive lineup of products, services and training for Windows 2000 Professional. HP recently launched its Microsoft Service Operation (MSO) — a new business unit within HP Services & Support dedicated to customers running Windows 2000 and Windows NT® operating system-based platforms. MSO helps customers plan, design, implement and maintain Microsoft technologies across the enterprise to deliver bulletproof computing environments for mission-critical applications on Windows 2000. HP today begins shipping 13 HP desktop and notebook PC models preloaded with Windows 2000 and also is offering Windows 2000-ready HP NetServer systems.
“HP has worked closely with Microsoft for three years to develop world-class products, education, services and support so customers can quickly enjoy maximum reliability, manageability and security in Windows 2000 environments,”
said Duane Zitzner, president of Computing Systems at Hewlett-Packard.
“Supporting the launch of Windows 2000 underscores HP’s commitment to providing a complete range of products and services for Microsoft Windows NT platforms.”
Toshiba’s award-winning mobility products give people the freedom to redefine the way they work. Toshiba’s experience in areas such as usability and total cost of ownership have been important assets to Microsoft during the development of Windows 2000. Toshiba and Microsoft have been working closely over the past several years to ensure this next-generation business operating system is in complete harmony with Toshiba’s reliable hardware technology. Toshiba has been working to assist its customers in taking advantage of the new Windows 2000 features, making their businesses more mobile and productive.
“Toshiba’s worldwide leadership in mobile solutions is further enhanced by the improved usability and security features of Windows 2000,”
said Jeffrey Friederichs, vice president and general manager of marketing, Computer Systems Group at Toshiba America Information Systems.
“Using Windows 2000 on Toshiba notebooks lowers overall TCO by reducing support costs and increasing system up-time. In addition, features such as plug and play, hot docking and improved power management take full advantage of Toshiba’s mobile technologies, allowing work to be defined by what we do, not where we do it.”
The close development partnership IBM has enjoyed with Microsoft over the past several years has given customers confidence in Windows 2000 as a platform for IBM’s products. The advanced technologies found in IBM’s broad range of personal computing products combined with its enterprise integration expertise and extensive deployment experience complement Windows 2000 to bring the most manageable, scalable and affordable e-business solutions to customers. In addition, IBM has created one of the largest global services organizations to help customers deploy Windows 2000. And through its worldwide HelpCenters and Learning Services, IBM provides a comprehensive portfolio of education, service and support helping to enable customers to make a seamless transition to Windows 2000.
“IBM has made a significant investment to prepare our products and help migrate customers quickly, securely and reliably to Windows 2000,”
said Ralph Martino, vice president of marketing and strategy, Personal Systems Group at IBM.
“As customers face the challenges of increased mobility, making the most of the Web, and minimizing total cost of IT ownership, IBM — along with Windows 2000 — helps address these enterprise needs and allows customers to take advantage of our technology leadership and e-business solutions to meet their business goals.”
Unisys e-@ction Solutions for Windows 2000 provides a comprehensive portfolio of services, horizontal and vertical industry solutions and enterprise-class technologies that empower users to plan, deploy and maintain end-to-end, mission-critical solutions based on the powerful new-generation Microsoft technology, while protecting and integrating with customers’ existing investments in critical information technologies. A highlight of this portfolio is the Unisys e-@ction Enterprise Server ES7000, an Intel-based mainframe that provides levels of performance at a fraction of the price that was once available only on mainframes or UNIX systems.
“Windows 2000 is bringing an unprecedented measure of scalability, performance and reliability within the reach of a broad range of customers by substantially lowering the cost of entry for true enterprise-class computing and dramatically simplifying enterprise systems administration,”
said Irv Epstein, head of program management for Windows 2000 and Windows NT at Unisys.
“The portfolio of Unisys e-@ction Solutions for Windows 2000 packages the services, industry solutions and unique technologies that have been tested by decades of Unisys focus on the most demanding challenges that large global enterprises encounter. The Unisys portfolio gives customers the total infrastructure support needed to make large Windows 2000-based solutions successful quickly, on a global scale.”
As the demands for Internet business solutions increase, so has the requirement for greater integration between application platforms and network infrastructures. Cisco and Microsoft have joined forces to deliver solutions based on Windows 2000 that take advantage of the collaboration on security, quality of service and directory services.
“Our combined solutions will ensure greater scalability and allow our customers to deploy Windows 2000-based environments quickly and securely across Cisco networks,”
said Peter Alexander, vice president of Enterprise Marketing at Cisco.
“Together, Cisco and Microsoft provide the availability and reliability needed for today’s Internet business model.”
EMC’s enterprise storage systems and portfolio of enterprise storage software support Windows 2000 and enable users of Windows 2000 to consolidate information from many servers onto a single EMC storage system for improved management, protection and information sharing. EMC’s unique ability to provide simultaneous storage support for heterogeneous servers, including mainframes, enables fast, seamless integration of Windows
2000-based information into enterprise computing environments. Users of Windows 2000 can take advantage of EMC’s innovative software solutions, such as EMC Control Center, Symmetrix Remote Data Facility (SRDF) and EMC TimeFinder, to automatically manage their environments and instantly create multiple copies of their consolidated Windows 2000-based information for tasks such as fast online backup and server performance improvement.
“EMC Enterprise Storage is a key enabling technology for the deployment of Windows 2000, and EMC is ready to help customers migrate and implement Windows 2000 in their datacenter environments,”
said Mike Ruettgers, CEO of EMC.
“EMC is delivering the tools that allow customers to consolidate Windows 2000-based information, grow it without limits, and protect and manage it, and make Windows 2000 a key component of their e-infostructure.”
Intel and Microsoft have worked together to ensure that Windows 2000 is highly optimized for the Pentium III and Pentium III Xeon processor platforms. The combination of Windows 2000 and Intel Architecture on everything from laptops to desktops to high-end enterprise servers is the ideal computing platform for companies that are looking to Internet-enable their businesses. Windows 2000 Server with Pentium III Xeon processor-based servers provide superior performance at world-class price points for today’s e-business environments plus headroom to scale up to eight-way processors and beyond.
In addition, PC manufacturers, such as Acer, DTK Computer Inc., Equus, Fountain Integrated Systems Inc., Gateway Inc., Leo, LG, MaxData, Merit, MidWest Micro, Micron, NEC, Omni Tech Corp., Samsung, Sejin, Siemens, Synex Technologies Inc. and Trigem, have designed Windows 2000 Ready PCs to help customers ensure a smooth migration and are offering Windows 2000 preinstalled on Feb. 17, 2000.
In addition to offerings from the largest PC manufacturers, customers interested in custom-built PCs with Windows 2000 preinstalled can take advantage of the services of over 33,000 local system builders worldwide that have accessed a wealth of training resources for Windows 2000 through the Microsoft OEM System Builder Program. In addition, system builders can participate in a variety of special offers and discounts on Windows 2000 OEM products from authorized Microsoft OEM distributors — a savings that can be passed on to customers. Customers interested in the services of a Microsoft OEM system builder should visit http://www.microsoft.com/biz/provider/default.asp .
About Windows 2000
Windows 2000 is an ideal platform for the next generation of business computing and addresses the full range of customers’ computing needs, from laptops and desktops to high-end clustered servers. The operating system helps organizations Internet-enable their business with a reliable, manageable infrastructure that is optimized for existing and emerging hardware. More information about Windows 2000 is available at http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/ and http://www.microsoft.com/technet/ .
Availability
General availability of Windows 2000 Professional, Windows 2000 Server and Windows 2000 Advanced Server is scheduled to begin Feb. 17, 2000. Windows 2000 Datacenter Server is expected to be available approximately 120 days later.
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