Microsoft Delivers Windows for Smart Cards at Cartes 99

PARIS, Nov. 15, 1999 — Today at Cartes 99, Microsoft Corp. announced the availability of the Microsoft® Windows® Smart Card Toolkit, which will enable developers and card customers to more easily build a broader range of smart-card applications and services by utilizing a common operating system and familiar tools. In addition, Microsoft showcased the Windows for Smart Cards operating system’s wide industry support through its rapidly expanding Smart Card Associates Program.

“Microsoft is proud that within a year we have worked with key players in the smart-card industry to transform our Windows for Smart Cards operating system from a potentially intriguing technology to a credible and powerful smart-card solution that is already being implemented around the world,”
said Philippe Goetschel, director, Smart Cards, Microsoft.
“We are especially happy to see that companies have embraced using the Windows for Smart Cards operating system in a wide variety of smart-card applications, whether it be support for GSM SIM cards, logon for Windows 2000, Web authentication, medical record storage, or debit, credit and cash transactions.”

In addition to the availability of the Windows Smart Card Toolkit, Microsoft announced with British Telecommunications (BT) a pilot program aimed at bringing one-touch remote network access from any device through smart-card technology to 35,000 of BT’s mobile workers.

“Currently logging on remotely can be a cumbersome, slow and expensive process for any mobile work force,”
said Steve Brown, head of Smart Card Development at BT.
“We see Windows Powered Smart Cards as a key enabling technology to help users avoid such pitfalls and enable one-touch remote access for mobile workers. The Windows for Smart Cards operating system meets our stringent security requirements and allows more of our employees to take advantage of increasingly mobile and flexible work environments.”

Also announced at Cartes was the implementation of a Windows Powered Smart Card pilot with Gemplus and BRED Banque Populaire in France. The pilot will offer a full authentication and security solution for business-to-business Internet commerce. The Windows Powered Smart Cards will work with the Cyberplus Business Web site ( http://www.cyberplusbusiness.com/ ) to offer a wide range of services.

“For more than a year, Gemplus has worked closely with Microsoft on the development of the Windows for Smart Cards operating system to both actively design and market this open platform,”
said Marc Lassus, chairman, Gemplus.
“Windows for Smart Cards will foster the broad-based acceptance of smart cards in the IT marketplace. To help make this happen, Gemplus is now announcing GemShield, the first Windows Powered Smart Card. In parallel, we have also begun deploying the Windows-powered technology within several key pilot programs and integrating it in associated solutions, such as GemSAFE Enterprise, our network security smart-card-based solution.”

A number of ISVs showcased solutions at Cartes 99 based on the Windows for Smart Cards operating system. They include Gemplus, Unicom Consulting Ltd., ICL, SAGEM and Utimaco Safeware AG. To further support the ISV community, Microsoft has created the Smart Card Associates Program, which has more than 50 members committed to ship Windows for Smart Card-based products in the coming weeks. In addition, the association provides technical and marketing advantages to members, giving approved members early access to Windows for Smart Card technology, Web site support, and use of the Microsoft Windows for Smart Cards logo.

“We have followed the Windows for Smart Cards products from the beginning, and Windows for Smart Cards has delivered on its promises,”
said Peter Bohn, CEO of Utimaco Safeware AG, a leading European provider of certified IT security solutions.
“We are showcasing solutions at Cartes 99, and a number of our network security solutions will commercially ship with Windows for Smart Cards support within 60 days after the show. Windows for Smart Cards gives us more capabilities then we had with our current supported products, and we expect that in the next 12 months an important part of our product licenses will work with Windows Powered Smart Cards.”

Microsoft Windows for Smart Cards

Microsoft Windows for Smart Cards is an 8-bit, multiapplication operating system for smart cards. It is designed to be a low-cost, easy-to-program platform that runs Visual Basic® -based applications and extends the PC environment into smart-card use. Windows for Smart Cards uses the Microsoft Visual Basic development system, a set of development tools familiar to millions of independent software vendors (ISVs) and in-house corporate developers.

Availability

The Microsoft Windows Smart Card Toolkit is available today at http://www.shop.microsoft.com/ . More information is available at http://www.microsoft.com/smartcard/ .

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