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Microsoft Finishes Windows SharePoint Services Code

Microsoft on Wednesday delivered Windows SharePoint Services, one of its most highly promoted free add-ons for the Windows Server 2003 operating system.

The posting of the final bits to the Web makes available a feature that Microsoft contends is one of the major feature benefits of upgrading to its five-month-old operating system. The availability comes just in time for the launch of Windows Server 2003 Small Business Server, in which WSS is expected to be especially popular.

WSS is billed as an enhancement of the file server capabilities of Windows Server 2003. The set of services is designed to encourage and make it easy for workers to create collaboration spaces for projects on a server. WSS is effectively an extension of the SharePoint Team Services Microsoft previously lumped in with Office and Exchange.

The services differ from the major back-end server products with a similar name. Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server and its successor, Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003, are designed for building enterprise intranets. SharePoint Portal Server is also much more expensive. In addition to running on top of Windows, the portal server costs $4,000 plus $71 per client access license.

SharePoint Services is one of several add-on components that the company decided to offer later rather than holding up the operating system's delivery to include. Other examples of the after-RTM add-ons are Windows Rights Management Services and real-time communications services.

The free download can be accessed here.

About the Author

Scott Bekker is editor in chief of Redmond Channel Partner magazine.

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