REDMOND, Wash., June 6, 2005 — Microsoft’s update management and security software has provided improved security and reduced costs for a broad range of customers.
Cole Taylor Bank internal analysis showed that Linux costs would be at least 20 percent higher than those in a Windows environment. Cole Taylor chose to migrate its 100 server computers to Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and make Microsoft SQL Server 2000 its database standard, decisions that have led to lower costs, higher security, lower business risk, and faster time-to-market with new services. “Once Microsoft lets us know that a patch exists, we’re able to evaluate them very, very quickly and remotely deploy the patches,” says Manuel Montejano, CIO at Cole Taylor Bank. “It not only keeps our cost down but it keeps our time-to-market very, very short.”
Independence Air, a regional passenger airline based at the Washington-Dulles International Airport, moved its e-commerce Web site from Linux to Microsoft for improved security management and better value and reliability. “We already know how to secure a Windows-based solution and keep it running smoothly,” says Stephen Shaffer, the airline’s director of software systems. “With Linux, we had to rely on consultants to tell us if our system was secure. With Windows, we can depend on Microsoft to inform us of and provide any necessary updates.”
Rackspace, a growing web hosting provider, deployed Microsoft for security in the datacenter, simplifying server management & reporting. “Windows Server 2003 is a secure operating system for the datacenter that comes with updates and proactive patches,” says Morris Miller, Rackspace’s managing director and co-chairman, Rackspace. That is not something available on Linux unless you subscribe to a separate update and patching service. When SQL Slaer came out, we had thousands of servers running Windows, and we didn’t have even one server go down.”
The State of Qatar’s Radio & TV Corporation, which provides television and radio services for the country’s 840,000 residents, uses Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 to deploy enterprise-wide security updates and to manage update processes, ensuring network-wide security compliance within minutes of deployment. “SMS 2003 has provided the foundation for network security, says Project Manager Shezhad Anwar Khan. “Microsoft helped us radically improve update management with its prescriptive security guidance, expertise and technology. The Microsoft approach to security is characterized by supportive tools and responsiveness to our needs.”
