REDMOND, Wash., October 27, 1998 — Microsoft today announced that the next major release of the Windows NT family of products, previously known as Windows NT 5.0, will be named Windows 2000, and will use the tagline, “Built on NT Technology” to communicate the underlying benefits of the Windows NT architecture.
In a move that combines the latest desktop improvements of Windows NT Workstation 4.0 with the name recognition of Windows, “Windows NT Workstation 5.0” will be changed to “Windows 2000 Professional.” Windows 2000 Professional offers the best of both worlds, combining the power, manageability and reliability of Windows NT with many features of Windows 98, including ease of use and mobile support. Because the system meets the needs of a broad range of business users, not just high-end workstation customers, Microsoft says it makes sense to drop the term “workstation” from the name. The company says the move reflects the product’s growing acceptance as the mainstream desktop operating system in businesses of all sizes for the start of the next millennium.
Microsoft also announced an expanded line of server product offerings to address the increased use of Windows-based server products in powerful, high availability, high dollar value transaction processing and Web-based mission-critical applications. Formerly the Windows NT Server 5.0 line of products, the Windows 2000 Server family now includes: Windows 2000 Server, Windows 2000 Advanced Server and Windows 2000 Datacenter Server, a new packaging option also announced today. Microsoft says this name change will help reflect the scalability of the Windows family across a broad range of hardware devices, and provide users with a consistent naming strategy for both client and server operating systems.
Windows 2000 is expected to ship in 1999. The Windows NT 4.0 family, Windows 98 and Windows CE names will remain the same.
