News

Industry Leaders Team With Microsoft for W2K Launch

• By Scott Bekker
• November 15, 1999

Microsoft today announced the first Windows 2000 Global Launch Partners, industry leaders who are showcasing investment in the Windows 2000 family of operating systems through solutions, services and support. The Global Launch Partners will join Microsoft in more than 60 locations worldwide on February 17, 2000 in conjunction with the launch of Windows 2000 to showcase solutions and demonstrate how the industry is preparing customers for the launch.

Cisco Systems Inc. (www.cisco.com) and Microsoft have joined forces to deliver solutions based on Windows 2000 that take advantage of the two companies' joint technology development on security, quality of service and directory services.

Commerce One Inc. (www.commerceone.com) and Microsoft are working together to optimize the Commerce One Solution for Windows 2000. The Commerce One BuySite Enterprise edition or Portal edition, with access to a Commerce One MarketSite portal running on Windows 2000, allows companies to buy and sell both direct and indirect goods and services. BuySite allows buying communities to purchase over the Internet, automating the entire purchasing cycle, while MarketSite provides the business-to-business commerce portal platform.

Compaq Computer Corp. (www.compaq.com) has been working with Microsoft for the past several years on a migration path to Windows 2000. The two companies have worked in tandem on the design, development and testing of many Windows 2000-based technologies, including Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI), PCI Hot Plug and Online Volume Growth for Servers, hot docking, hot swapping of MultiBay devices, PC Card support and USB.

Dell Computer Corp.'s (www.dell.com) Windows 2000 Premier Migration Program combines a series of service, programs and products to help users make an easy transition to the new operating environment. Dell has worked with Microsoft to define and develop Windows 2000, and Dell will showcase Windows 2000 on its OptiPlex desktop PCs, Latitude notebook PCs and PowerEdge servers in Microsoft's booth at Comdex (www.zdevents.com/comdex/fall99).

Hewlett-Packard Co. (www.hp.com) and Microsoft have been working together to help customers take advantage of Windows 2000 advancements. HP's early support of Windows 2000 will help to ensure that its Open View, Top Tools and support services will help its customers migrate to Windows 2000 as smoothly as possible.

Microsoft and i2 Technologies (www.i2.com), a provider of intelligent e-business solutions, are partnering to deliver e-business solutions to improve productivity and decision making. i2's planning and optimization software, Rhythm, will help companies maximize efficiency, collaborate with suppliers and customers, and become more responsive to market demand.

Intel Corp. (www.intel.com) has been working with Microsoft to optimize the Windows 2000 operating environment for Intel-based servers and workstations, professional desktop mobile PCs, and its computer telephony and networking products. Several Intel-led technologies and initiatives are included in Microsoft's upcoming releases, and Intel is working closely on Microsoft's development of a future operating system for Intel's IA-64 Itanium processors.

SAP AG(www.sap.com) and Microsoft have been working throughout 1999, performing daily testing of Windows 2000, including simulated stress tests, to ensure that SAP's current and new customers easily migrate to Windows 2000. In August, Microsoft migrated its production SAP system to Windows 2000.

Toshiba's (www.toshiba.com) experience in power management and total cost of ownership are an important part of the Windows 2000. Toshiba and Microsoft have been working together over the last several years to enable integration between Windows 2000 and Toshiba's hardware technology.

Unisys Corp. (www.unisys.com) offers enterprise-class solutions based on Windows 2000 architecture. At Comdex, Unisys demonstrated several of its enterprise servers and technologies in its "Data Center of the Next Millennium", the largest-capacity e-business transaction processing environment to date on Windows 2000, conducting 4,000 transactions per second and handling more than 3 million Web hits each day.