REDMOND, Wash., Feb. 20, 2002 — Today at the Internet World Wireless East 2002 show in New York, Microsoft Corp. announced the availability of Mobile Information Server 2002 Enterprise Edition (MIS 2002 EE) and said that the company has delivered on yet another important step in its mission to make the benefits of mobility available to all enterprises.
Microsofts strategy is to make mobile access a feature of all our enterprise offerings. More and more corporations are considering mobile solutions and realizing the challenges involved,” said Paul Flessner, senior vice president of the Microsoft .NET Enterprise Server Division at Microsoft. “We believe driving down the barriers for mobile deployment is a key factor in enabling the broadest number of customers to successfully realize the benefits of mobility. MIS 2002 EE is a key step in delivering on that strategy. Weve listened to our customers and we are responding.”
MIS 2002 EE was released just half a year behind MIS 2001 EE in a rapid response to customer and partner feedback in the fast-moving mobile space. In the mobile environment, usability, manageability and security are key challenges affecting the speed of customers adoption. MIS 2002 EE addresses these challenges with new features such as over-the-air synchronization to Exchange from Pocket PC, and Pocket PC Phone devices, which provide a highly integrated user experience; the Enterprise Setup Tool and Personal Setup Tool, which simplify management challenges in dealing with a large number of mobile users; and additional security topologies, protocol support and authentication options, which address customers security concerns about mobile environments. Microsoft continues to grow the number of companies and partners delivering solutions using MIS. Among those industry partners are Accenture, Avanade Inc., Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, Compaq Computer Corp., Compuware Corp., Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard Co., IBM Global Services, MobileSys Inc. and Onset Technology.
Compaq and HP are both introducing new service offerings using MIS that promise to speed deployment and reduce the complexity of rolling out mobile solutions.
Compaq is supporting the enhanced MIS offering and extending its own leadership in messaging and collaboration and wireless/telecommunications solutions with three new end-to-end MIS offerings: Compaq-packaged solutions for MIS, MIS installation and startup services from Compaq Global Services, and Compaq Managed Mobility solutions for MIS.
“By combining MIS software with the iPAQ Pocket PC and Compaq ProLiant servers brought together by Compaq Global Services were providing customers with faster access to their data and e-mail in Exchange environments, which ultimately means a higher return on their investments,” said Jerry Meerkatz, vice president and general manager of the Enterprise Mobility Solutions Group at Compaq.
HP, a longtime partner of Microsofts, offers HP Express Services for MIS, which enables a team of up to 50 mobile professionals in a company to conduct a 60-day pilot study of the MIS solution. “HP Express Services for MIS allow our customers to quickly and economically evaluate the benefits of an MIS solution, including ROI,” said David Stubbs, general manager of Microsoft Services Operation at HP. “By seamlessly synchronizing a companys corporate intranet with wireless and handheld devices, customers can experience improved productivity and collaboration from this customizable solution.”
About Mobile Information Server
MIS securely extends Exchange 2000 Server information using Outlook Mobile Access and also extends corporate intranet applications and services to mobile users around the world with the latest generation of mobile devices, such as the Pocket PC 2002 or HP Jornada 928 Wireless Digital Assistant using Pocket PC Phone Edition, released Feb. 19 at the 3GSM World Congress 2002 in Cannes, France.
Next Steps for Mobile Access to Exchange
In line with the strategy of making mobile access a feature of all Microsofts enterprise offerings, the next version of Exchange (availablility scheduled for the first half of 2003) will include wireless access via mobile devices using Outlook Mobile Access. This early announcement allows MIS customers to deploy mobile functionality today and gives them an easy migration path to the next version of Exchange.
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 and Outlook 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.
Link to virtual pressroom:
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/events/mec01/default.asp
Link to MIS Web site:
http://www.microsoft.com/miserver/
Link to Microsoft partner Web site:
http://www.microsoft.com/miserver/partners/default.asp
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 Microsofts corporate information pages. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed.
