News

ISA Server 2000 Getting Price Cut

• By Scott Bekker
• February 09, 2004

Microsoft alerted partners on Monday to an upcoming deal on Internet Security & Acceleration Server 2000, the company's enterprise software firewall that is scheduled to be replaced later this year by ISA 2004.

In a promotion scheduled to run March 1 through May 31, customers who buy ISA 2000 with Software Assurance could be eligible for "cost savings of up to 20 percent," according to a Microsoft FAQ. Having Software Assurance, Microsoft's Licensing 6.0 component that adds a premium to software costs but grants upgrade rights, would guarantee any customer who buys ISA 2000 under the deal the ability to upgrade to ISA 2004 at no additional cost.

It is unclear whether the promotion represents a clearance sale to move some software in the lull before ISA 2004 ships in mid-2004, or if Microsoft is floating a potential price cut for its enterprise firewall software. In a possible parallel, Microsoft announced a promotional deal offering Services for Unix 3.0 for free for several months. But when the company released SFU 3.5 last month, Microsoft had decided to stop charging for the product.

The ISA Server promotion applies to both the Standard Edition and the Enterprise Edition of ISA Server 2000. The current list price for ISA Server 2000 Standard Edition is $1,499 per processor. ISA Server 2000 Enterprise Edition lists for $5,999 per processor. Microsoft says customers interested in learning more should contact resellers or their Microsoft account executives. Resellers apparently will get the deal but aren't required to pass the savings on to customers -- meaning customers will have to negotiate to see the savings in many cases.

ISA 2004 entered a broad beta Jan. 27.