LOS ANGELES, April 30, 2001 — In an address to Gartner, Inc. “Windows 2000 and Beyond” conference today, John Enck, Gartner’s research director of server strategies, revealed that Microsoft’s enterprise server products, previously code-named “Whistler,” will be released under the name Windows 2002.
In February, Microsoft announced the official product name of Windows XP, the company’s next-generation desktop operating system, which had previously shared the Whistler code name with the server products.
Same Code Base, Different Product Families
Both the new server software and the desktop operating system are based on the strengths of the Windows 2000 code base, but they belong to different product families.
According to Microsoft, Windows XP — which will come in a Home Edition, a Professional Edition, and a 64-bit version — establishes the new standard in power, reliability, security and simplicity for PC users. But the newly named Windows 2002 reflects the needs and requirements of a broad range of business computing requirements: small businesses and departmental/workgroup customer needs; enterprise customers’ quest for manageable, secure line-of-business systems; and Web-centric customers who require the highest levels of reliability and scalability.
“Windows 2002 represents the next step in the evolution of Windows 2000,” says Mark Perry, senior director of Windows .NET Server Marketing. “We strongly encourage customers to deploy Windows 2000 today, so they can reap the benefits of increased reliability and flexibility. The platform supports industry standards that allow customers to use and build upon their existing IT investments. The Windows 2002 server software will be the logical evolutionary extension of the current Windows 2000 server family.”
Windows 2002 Beta Testing
The Windows 2002 server family currently is in “Beta 2,” or the second stage of beta testing. This beta version of the server operating system reflects the customer-driven evolution of Windows 2000. Building on Windows 2000’s reliability, manageability and scalability, Windows 2002 also will offer support for new high-performance 64-bit hardware architectures.
The recent beta release of Windows 2002 encompassed nearly 300,000 customers, partners, OEMs, developers and other testers — one of the largest and most ambitious software testing programs in Microsoft’s history.
Gartner’s “Windows 2000 and Beyond” conference focuses on current technology shifts surrounding Windows 2000 and Microsoft’s new .NET initiative. Gartner is a Stamford, Connecticut-based research and advisory firm that provides thought leadership for more than 10,000 organizations, and helps technology companies identify and maximize technology market opportunities.
