Leading Enterprise Software Vendors Develop More Than 100 Web Parts In Support of Microsoft’s Portal Platform

REDMOND, Wash., May 1, 2001 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the latest version of the Microsoft® Digital Dashboard Resource Kit (DDRK), a free developer toolkit designed to enable companies to easily extend Microsoft SharePoint™ Portal Server 2001 and Microsoft SQL Server™
2000 digital dashboards. A Web Part Gallery containing more than 100 Web Parts for use in connecting enterprise content to the portal will also be included with the kit and can be accessed now at http://www.microsoft.com/digitaldashboard/ .

With the DDRK 3.0 and the Web Part Gallery, customers will have the opportunity to choose from a long list of Microsoft and third-party Web Parts that enable access to mission-critical applications and improve business agility. Microsoft has created Web Parts that integrate Microsoft applications, MSN® services, and enterprise-level applications, including those from SAP AG and Siebel Systems Inc. Third-party Web Parts provide prebuilt interfaces into a range of customers’ existing business systems, such as customer relationship management (CRM), enterprise resource planning (ERP) and knowledge management applications.

Business Objects SA, a leading provider of business intelligence solutions, will offer six business intelligence Web Parts that will integrate with SharePoint Portal Server.
“Through the integration of Business Objects’ business intelligence products with SharePoint Portal Server, joint customers will have instant access to queries and reports within one common user interface,”
said Mark Tice, group vice president for global alliances at Business Objects.
“Our Web Parts deliver personalized access to secure and relevant business information and enable users to easily collaborate with colleagues directly from within the digital dashboard. We share a common goal with Microsoft to provide our joint customers with access to up-to-date business information that enables them respond to change quickly, making responsiveness a competitive advantage.”

Microsoft Great Plains Business Solutions is a leading provider of business applications designed to help small and midsize companies become more agile in today’s interconnected economy. Its Web Parts integrate key financial, vendor and customer data into corporate portals.

“Our Web Parts enable knowledge workers to access complementary information from multiple Microsoft Great Plains applications simultaneously, significantly improving their ability to access the right information quickly and easily,”
said Lynne Stockstad, vice president of e-business at Microsoft Great Plains.

“The development community has embraced our vision by providing our mutual customers with an extensive catalog of Web Parts, allowing them to rapidly customize their portals,”
said Jeff Teper, general manager of the SharePoint Portal Server Business Unit at Microsoft.
“Providing an extensible platform for customers is central to our vision of enabling business agility. With an architecture built on Web Parts, SharePoint Portal Server is poised to deliver a rich, customizable portal to medium-sized and large organizations.”

The three-CD Digital Dashboard Resource Kit 3.0 will include a CD dedicated to SQL Server 2000 digital dashboard development, a 120-day SharePoint Portal Server evaluation edition, and a Web Part Development Kit containing the Web Part Gallery. In addition, the Web Part Development Kit will include portal integration tools designed to convert TopTier iViews and InfoImage Portal Objects into Web Parts. Developers will benefit from code samples and white papers that enable them to build Web Parts and custom SQL-based dashboards for the desktop and mobile devices.

Companies that have created Web Parts available on the Web Part Gallery include .netWire, Avanade, Bridge, Business Objects, Cornerstone Concepts, Correlate Technologies, Decision Support Panel, Elite, eRoom, Factiva, FileNet, Hoovers, Microsoft Great Plains Business Solutions, Moreover, Navision, NQL, Pcubed, Plural, ProClarity Corp., Sage, SAS, Tactical Marketing Ventures and TopTier/SAP Portals.

About Digital Dashboard and Web Parts

Microsoft’s digital dashboard technology is a customizable portal framework that enables knowledge workers to view and collaborate on personal, team, corporate and external information. Web-based content can be integrated into the portal via Web Parts (XML wrappers around pre-existing Web-based code), which offer companies an effective way to integrate existing enterprise systems, such as analytical and collaborative tools in Microsoft Office, Microsoft Exchange Server and Microsoft SQL Server, into their corporate portal. Web Parts shipping in the DDRK 3.0 can be used with SharePoint Portal Server, the first Microsoft product

to be based on the digital dashboard framework, or with custom-built Exchange 2000 or SQL Server 2000 digital dashboards. SharePoint Portal Server is a flexible portal solution that allows companies to easily find, share and publish information.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (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, SharePoint and MSN 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.

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