REDMOND, Wash., March 16, 1999 — Microsoft Corp. today announced that it will work with Entevo Corp., FastLane Technologies Inc. and Mission Critical Software Inc. to provide coordinated technical support services to Microsoft’s enterprise customers. Under the agreements, Microsoft and the independent software vendors (ISVs) will take joint ownership of customer issues, share technical support information and enable experts from Microsoft and the ISVs to work together as a virtual team. The result for customers will be a seamless support experience, even when incidents involve products from multiple vendors.
Entevo, FastLane and Mission Critical are industry leaders in developing advanced directory management solutions that simplify Microsoft® Windows NT® Server 4.0 administration today, accelerate the move to the Windows® 2000 Server operating system including the Active Directory
™
directory service, and will continue to offer value in Windows 2000 Server environments. Having support agreements in place will help ensure the highest level of customer satisfaction and confidence in ISV products used by Microsoft’s enterprise customers, who frequently look to ISVs to provide solutions for their specialized management requirements.
“Customers are asking for ways to simplify the management of large Windows NT Server 4.0-based domains while preparing themselves to upgrade to Windows 2000 Server and Active Directory,”
said Kevin Johnson, vice president of product support services at Microsoft.
“By providing the highest-quality service and support, we hope to give our customers the confidence to use Entevo, FastLane and Mission Critical products to extend the Windows NT management model and prepare for Windows 2000 at the same time.”
Entevo, FastLane and Mission Critical each provide products that offer benefits to users of Windows NT Server, including the following:
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The ability for administrators to delegate security privileges to simplify domain management and consolidation
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Enhanced auditing and reporting features to improve administrative control
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Ways to manage users and resources hierarchically in preparation for Active Directory directory services and Windows 2000 Server
Each ISV also provides features to enable customers to integrate and migrate servers running Novell’s NDS to a Windows NT Server-centric management infrastructure.
“PacifiCare Health Systems has found that FastLane’s products deliver significant benefits to our enterprise domain management projects,”
said Patrick Garrett, enterprise NT systems administrator at PacifiCare.
“Through this commitment from Microsoft, we are pleased that there will now be seamless support available for both our Windows NT network and FastLane’s domain management applications.”
Under the agreements, Microsoft will work with the ISVs to cross-train support professionals, share technical information such as white papers, knowledge bases, product updates and best practices for solving customer issues, and provide a 24×7 problem-escalation path. Microsoft is also investigating the development of an electronically linked support system for immediate access among support professionals at the various companies.
Microsoft expects to have support services available for enterprise customers within approximately 30 days. For more information about products from Entevo, FastLane and Mission Critical, visit http://www.microsoft.com/ntserver/nts/exec/vendors/NTSisv.asp .
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 NT, Windows and Active Directory are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
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