REDMOND, Wash., July 20, 1999 — Microsoft Corp. today announced a change to the Microsoft® SNA Server end-user licensing agreement, removing the single-user limitation of the included 3270 and 5250 clients included with this product. This change provides customers with simple access to their existing mainframe and AS/400 applications and facilitates Web-to-host access by providing tools that help IT organizations deploy host-access clients through a Web browser.
With over 170,000 licenses for SNA Server already deployed worldwide, customers are now able to gain access to mission-critical host applications by simply installing the included 3270 and 5250 clients locally or by linking to the Web-based setup program included with SNA Server 4.0. The licensing addendum announced today will help reduce the total cost of ownership for accessing existing mainframe and AS/400 applications. In addition, the flexible deployment options – client- or Web-based – help customers migrate at a pace that is comfortable.
“We’re pleased to provide the host access clients to the overwhelming number of SNA Server customers who desire simple access to their existing mainframe and AS/400 applications,”
said Chris Olson, SNA Server group product manager at Microsoft.
“IT organizations will immediately benefit by having an application that not only meets the needs of a significant number of end users, but also extends SNA Server’s existing foundation and migration to Web-to-host access.”
“Customers are looking to purchase complete solutions from a single vendor,”
said Lucinda Borovick, a research manager at International Data Corp. in Framingham, Mass.
“The long-awaited entry of Microsoft into the client category meets this customer requirement for a single supplier of Web-based connectivity.”
“With this emulator licensing change, Microsoft takes a big step toward refocusing SNA Server from being a network plumbing provider to being a network solution provider. This emulator’s Web-deployable capabilities and its lightweight desktop footprint make it a highly desirable solution for many shops today,”
said Roger Pence, AS/400 industry observer and editor of the AS/400 Letter.
Microsoft SNA Server 4.0 is a comprehensive gateway and application integration platform that provides IT professionals with a complete end-to-end solution. It allows customers to embrace Internet, intranet and client/server technologies while preserving investments in AS/400 and mainframe-based systems. Microsoft SNA Server 4.0 offers superior performance as well as many new application integration capabilities, including COM Transaction Integrator (COMTI) for IBM CICS and IMS, the OLE DB Provider for AS/400 and VSAM, the OLE DB Provider for DB2, Microsoft Message Queue Server (MSMQ)-MQ Series Bridge and Command MQ Series Bridge.
The licensing addendum applies to all customers currently running SNA Server 4.0 or greater. Users with valid client access licenses (CALs) can deploy the 3270 and 5250 clients. More information is available at the Microsoft SNA Server Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/sna/ .
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