Windows 2000 Server: One Year Out, 1 Million Strong

REDMOND, Wash., Feb. 7, 2001 — Microsoft Corp. today announced that sales of licenses for the Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Server family, including the standard, advanced and datacenter servers, will exceed the 1 million mark this month. This milestone coincides with the one-year anniversary of the worldwide launch of Windows 2000.

The widespread adoption of Windows 2000 Server means that businesses and organizations of all sizes are benefiting from greater flexibility and faster time to market. At the same time, many of these companies are seeing millions of dollars in incremental profit through the use of Windows 2000, according to independent analysts and customers such as Realpoint.com and HSN.com.

“Microsoft launched Windows 2000 a year ago with the commitment that it would improve business operations for customers today and as their needs and the competitive landscape evolve in the future,”
said Steve Ballmer, president and CEO of Microsoft.
“The 1 million server mark is strong feedback from our customers that the Windows 2000 Server family is delivering the reliability and business agility they need to stay ahead of the curve in the fast-paced digital economy. We’re delighted at the response from customers, as well as the growth opportunity this represents for Microsoft.”

GMAC Commercial Mortgage chose Windows 2000 as the platform for its new offering to the financial community, Realpoint.com, the first service that will be available for decision-making information in the commercial-mortgage-backed securities market.
“We have been able to create Realpoint.com from soup to nuts in fewer then 90 days by leveraging Microsoft’s .NET architecture,”
said Rob Dobilas, vice president of GMAC Commercial Mortgage.
“With the reliability that GMAC Commercial Mortgage has had with Windows 2000, we are confident that we chose the right platform to achieve not only time to market, but reliability and performance, as well, for our new, complex financial offering.”

“To stay competitive today, corporations need IT infrastructure support for incredibly fast time to market, and IT infrastructure flexibility to adapt to rapidly changing business requirements,”
said Wayne Kernochan, managing vice president, Platform Solutions, Aberdeen Group Inc.
“Windows 2000 shows a strong ability to meet these needs of the enterprise. Our research also shows that, effectively implemented, it provides enterprise-class reliability and scalability. As a result, users can achieve rapid return on investment without compromising reliability and scalability.”

Customers Achieving Benefits Exceeding $8 Million With Windows 2000

Customers deploying Windows 2000 are saving from 5 percent to 30 percent per year in total cost of ownership (TCO), with a projected average savings of 18 percent per year, according to calculations resulting from Microsoft’s studies of users of Windows 2000. Many of these customers are achieving complete payback on their IT investments in nine months to 12 months. Larger companies project a median net bottom-line benefit of $8 million over three years. These results are based on the projections using a TCO analysis, and then audited by a Gartner Group Inc. or Giga Information Group consultant.

Windows 2000 Delivering the Foundation for .NET Solutions

Customers and analysts confirm that Microsoft has delivered on its commitment for unparalleled reliability, scalability and manageability. Windows 2000 delivers tremendous customer value by enabling solution providers to build next-generation, distributed Web solutions on the Microsoft .NET platform.

The Windows 2000 Server family includes the standard, advanced and datacenter servers. Windows 2000 Server is the multipurpose network operating system for businesses of all sizes, Windows 2000 Advanced Server is the server operating system for mission-critical Web and line-of-business application servers, and Windows 2000 Datacenter Server is the server operating system for the most demanding levels of availability and scale. Windows 2000 Professional is the ideal rich client for today’s applications and evolving applications for .NET. It moves enterprises toward .NET by providing a reliable, manageable and secure desktop experience. Together with Internet enablement via support for Web standards such as XML, Windows 2000 Professional makes it possible for enterprises to get a handle on their corporate desktops. Windows 2000 Professional helps to reduce TCO and provides the business with a more flexible end-user platform to deploy applications more seamlessly.

More information about Windows 2000 Server can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/ . In addition, more information about customer case studies that quantify the business value of Microsoft solutions can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/business/value/casestudies/casestudyname.asp .

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“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.

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