REDMOND, Wash., March 6, 2000 — Microsoft Corp. today announced unprecedented momentum for its MSDN TM Online developer portal and the MSDN developer program, with membership reaching more than 3 million worldwide at the end of 1999. According to data from Media Metrix Inc., MSDN Online serves more than 20 times as many unique users as competing programs from Sun Microsystems Inc., IBM Corp. or Oracle Corp. Also, MSDN grew 50 percent last year, more than twice the combined total of Sun, IBM and Oracle programs, according to research conducted by Market Decisions Inc. for Microsoft.
Microsoft attributes the unprecedented popularity of MSDN – the world’s most popular developer portal and support program – to its ongoing innovation and quality of support. The in-depth MSDN support for the Microsoft® Windows® DNA platform has prompted MSDN members to become the driving force for the mass adoption of Windows DNA solutions on the Internet. A majority of the top 100 Media Metrix shopping sites as well as a majority of the sites ranked by Goldman Sachs B2B Watchlist are based on the Windows DNA platform, making it the emerging standard for Internet solutions.
In addition to the innovative solutions launched last December, such as Comments and Ratings, MSDN Show and DLL Help, two new features are available on MSDN Online today:
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Code Center. This code sample portal provides quick and easy access to code samples and sample applications, allowing developers to examine the code in the browser, including source files, header files, documentation, modules, class modules and forms, before downloading large compressed files.
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Bug Center. Developers save time by having an easy way to get information about bugs and fixes in a specific product through one quick search.
“MSDN sets the standard for development community programs and portals, providing a focal point for by far the largest developer community in the world,”
said Evan Quinn, vice president of Application Strategies at Hurwitz Group.
“Recent MSDN enhancements offer tangible value throughout the developer community, from software engineers and business-to-business programmers to Web developers.”
Major growth for MSDN also took place in existing key program segments, including the following:
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MSDN Online, with growth of 274 percent in page views over the past year
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MSDN events
and conferences, attended by more than 500,000 developers over the past year -
MSDN Business Connection, with 84 percent membership growth in one year
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MSDN training resources via the classroom, books, online and CDs, with usage up 65 percent for the year
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MSDN software subscriptions, which were up 46 percent for the year
“Developers worldwide are flocking to MSDN more than all the other leading developer programs combined because we have innovated the broadest, deepest program of developer support for the Windows DNA platform,”
said Tod Nielsen, vice president of Developer Marketing at Microsoft.
Recognizing that the success of independent developers is key to the success of everyone in the technology industry, Microsoft will continue not only to provide the best services and support for its development community, but also work to increasingly understand the needs of developers. Developers interested in MSDN can find the developer portal at http://msdn.microsoft.com/ .
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software – any time, any place and on any device.
