REDMOND, Wash., April 12, 2001 — Although NATO nations are not obliged to use the NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency (NAMSA) for the support of their military equipment, most find that collaborating with other members of the alliance is more cost-effective than buying and supporting their equipment independently. So when NAMSA wanted to create a secure and reliable online business-to-business (B2B) procurement system, it choose Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Server, Microsoft SQL Server™
2000 and Microsoft Commerce Server 2000 for building, deploying and managing its next-generation integrated Web experiences.
The NAMSA eBid system was deployed in three months and allows qualified vendors to do business with the agency 24×7 in a simple and secure manner. Using the native XML and XSL support in SQL Server 2000, eBid can immediately communicate and transfer data between various systems without going through the laborious task of converting data, making the solution an ideal vertical B2B portal for the defense industry. Moreover, based on projected savings in staff time and in fax and telephone costs, the overall investment should pay for itself within five months.
NATO is not alone: Governments and public agencies all over the world are betting their systems on the Microsoft .NET platform. More information about government agencies using Microsoft technology solutions can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/business/government/default.asp . More information about the NAMSA case study can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/business/government/resources/nato_ebid.asp .
Founded in 1975, Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies 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.
Microsoft and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsoft’s corporate information pages.
