SAN JOSE, Calif., Sept. 28, 1998 — This week at ISPCON West 98 – a trade show expected to draw 5,000 Internet service providers and others from the Internet industry — Microsoft will demonstrate the advanced Web hosting and Internet services that are opening new markets for a growing number of ISPs and making Microsoft Windows NT Server the leading platform for deploying Web servers and Web applications.
The advanced capabilities of the Microsoft Windows NT Server operating system 4.0 and the Microsoft Commercial Internet System 2.0 have captured the interest and commitment of many leading ISPs, as reflected by a recent ZD Market Intelligence study showing that 54 percent of Web servers are now running on Windows NT Server.
The Microsoft Commercial Internet System 2.0 (MCIS) is a comprehensive ISP solution for advanced Web hosting, electronic commerce, community and managed network services. Built on Windows NT Server 4.0, with its integrated Web, application and streaming media services, MCIS enables commercial service providers to quickly offer their customers a wider range of solutions with lower development and administration costs. Broad developer and application support for the Windows operating system platform means more choice of solutions and faster time to market through easier integration with what customers already have.
“We are excited by the rapid adoption of Windows NT Server by Internet service providers,” said Mike Nash, director of marketing for Windows NT Server at Microsoft. “By working together to meet the needs of commercial Internet sites and enterprise customers, we are bringing the Windows phenomena to new markets and creating tremendous new business opportunities for ISPs.”
“Only Windows NT Server offers us a complete platform with advanced services and broad support for applications” said Mark Guagliardo, chief technology officer at NetConcept Inc. “Building our hosting business on Windows NT Server gives us the ability to differentiate our products and offer our customers high value e-commerce, streaming media and application services.”
According to a September survey by ZD Market Intelligence, a provider of fact-based information on computer and communications industry trends, Windows NT Server is now used for 54 percent of Web servers, emerging as the leading operating system for Web servers. The ZD Market Intelligence study is confirmed by a Microsoft sponsored tracking survey of Web site adoption that found 57 percent of self-hosted COM Internet sites use Windows NT Server as their primary operating system, compared to only 28 percent on UNIX. The study also found that Windows NT Server has also made significant gains in Web hosting and consulting firms where 48 percent now use it as their primary operating system.
“To address business-critical Web and ISP requirements, customers demand reliability and scalability,” said Tony Iams, senior analyst at D. H. Brown Associates, Inc. “We consider Windows NT Server to provide a solid ISP foundation, offering effective high-availability options and a proven, commercial-grade support infrastructure.”