Microsoft Announces Ready for AS/400 Campaign
Nationwide Promotion Makes It Easy for Customers to Evaluate Microsoft, ThirdParty Software to Enhance, Extend AS/400 Environments —
REDMOND, Wash. – Feb. 1, 1996 – Microsoft Corp. today announced its Ready for AS/400 campaign, a nationwide promotion that makes it easy for customers to evaluate Microsoft® and third-party PC software to enhance and extend their AS/400®
environments. The program includes no-cost trial software, a seminar series, an advertising program and a range of support materials for corporate customers.
As part of the campaign, corporate computer users can obtain an AS/400 CD-ROM at no charge from the following AS/400 suppliers: Andrew Corp., Attachmate Corp., NetSoft, Wall Data and WRQ. (Specific information about how each of these companies will distribute the CD-ROM is attached.) The AS/400 CD-ROM contains 90-day trial versions of the Microsoft Windows®
95 operating system and Microsoft Office for Windows 95, as well as software from the leading AS/400 suppliers from which the CD-ROM is available. The CD-ROM also includes a complete resource kit and white papers that answer questions about how to integrate leading desktop software into an AS/400 environment.
“AS/400 customers are looking to integrate their investment in PCs and PC technology with existing AS/400 systems and create a seamless computing environment, an environment that integrates personal productivity with existing AS/400 line-of-business applications,”
said Tad Parker, midrange marketing manager at Microsoft.
“The Ready for AS/400 program gives customers the opportunity to evaluate not only Microsoft products, but also products from third-party companies that will allow them to accomplish this objective.”
Microsoft’s long-standing commitment to the AS/400 market includes its development of Microsoft SNA Server, a key member of the Microsoft BackOffice
™
family of integrated server applications for the Windows NT
™
Server network operating system. Microsoft SNA Server tightly integrates PCs and the AS/400 environment to bring reliability, flexibility and scalability to AS/400 users. While the initial phase of the Ready for AS/400 campaign focuses on the desktop, a follow-up program will focus on SNA Server and related products.
“Companies want to enhance their AS/400 environments with the power and flexibility of the PC, and Microsoft is committed to helping them,”
said John Neilson, vice president of the organization customer unit at Microsoft.
“The Ready for AS/400 campaign is the best way for corporations to enhance those environments with the best desktop client – Windows 95 – and the best business productivity suite – Office for Windows 95 – as well as with leading technology from the industry’s major developers.”
“Because of our leadership position in the AS/400 connectivity market and our support for Microsoft’s OLE component strategy, Wall Data is in a unique position to help AS/400 customers migrate easily to Windows 95,”
said York Baur, vice president of product marketing for Wall Data.
“The pairing of Microsoft Windows 95 with a whole new generation of high-end connectivity solutions makes for a vast array of exciting, complete, desktop-to-host options for the AS/400 user,”
said Kevin Klustner, vice president of sales and marketing at WRQ.
“The Ready for AS/400 campaign highlights the comprehensive range of solutions available for accessing AS/400s within the powerful Windows 95-based environment,”
said Gregory Koss, vice president of Andrew Network Systems.
“Many of our AS/400 customers are migrating to Windows 95 or considering a move in that direction,”
said David Veneski, vice president of specialty products at Attachmate.
“This trial kit is a great opportunity to evaluate Windows 95 and Office 95 along with Attachmate’s RALLY! for AS/400, one of the foremost PC-to-AS/400 connectivity products available.”
“NetSoft’s NS/Router and NS/Midrange Client Services have established a de facto standard in Windows® -to-AS/400 connectivity, and we’re delighted to see Microsoft and key developers working together to integrate PCs and AS/400s in the 32-bit Windows-based environment,”
said Raymond Chan, co-founder and vice president of business development at NetSoft.
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, BackOffice and Windows NT are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
AS/400 is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corp.
For Online Product Information:
Windows Web site: http://www.microsoft.com/windows
Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft home page at http://www.microsoft.com. To receive Microsoft press releases by fax, please call (800) 859-5915 in the United States or (201) 333-0314 internationally.
CD-ROM Distribution Details for Microsoft Ready for AS/400 Campaign:
To order a no-charge AS/400 CD-ROM from the suppliers listed below, contact them at the numbers and/or Web sites listed.
Andrew Corp., (800) 328-2696
Attachmate Corp. , (800) 426-6283
NetSoft, (800) 463-8763, or complete an order form on the NetSoft Web site at www.netsoft.com
Wall Data, (800) 33RUMBA (337-8622), ext. 5274
WRQ , (800) 926-3896, or complete an order form on the WRQ Web site at www.wrq.com
