SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 17, 2000 — Microsoft Corp. announced today at the launch of Windows® 2000 that over 250 corporations have deployed the product successfully in a variety of mission-critical environments worldwide. Even before the general availability of the product, these businesses - large, small, brick and mortar, and Internet-based - have deployed over 150,000 copies of Microsoft® Windows 2000 Professional on desktops or notebooks and over 9,000 systems running on Windows 2000 Server or Advanced Server in production environments. In fact, customers such as AIMCO, Phoenix Suns-Arizona Diamondbacks, Sears Homelife, Troop Law and Stride Rite Corp. have completely deployed Windows 2000 Professional and Windows 2000 Server across their organizations. In addition, key customers from around the world, such as General Motors Corp., Merrill Lynch & Company Inc. and Wells Fargo Bank, which have already begun their deployments, have committed to installing Windows 2000 on almost 2 million desktops, notebooks and servers. Finally, major corporations are continuing to see total cost of ownership (TCO) benefits from deploying Windows 2000, saving millions of dollars every year, thanks to the enhanced reliability and manageability of the platform. "We tested Windows 2000 in literally thousands of different environments, and the feedback has shown overwhelmingly that Windows 2000 is a proven winner for our customers,"
said Steve Ballmer, president and CEO of Microsoft.
"Our thanks go to the many customers who've been early adopters and have helped us to build a better product. We couldn't be more pleased that these companies are already reaping the benefits of Windows 2000." "Windows 2000 clearly makes solid improvements over Windows NT® 4.0 in terms of base operating system functions related to reliability, scalability and manageability,"
said Tony Iams, senior analyst, D.H.Brown Associates.
"In addition, Windows 2000 breaks new ground for tightly integrating key layered functions related to Web-based infrastructures, including rich directory, security and application services, all of which help to transform the network into a unified information system." "We thoroughly tested Windows 2000 Professional and felt confident that it would stand up in our most mission-critical environments,"
said Eric Craig, manager of Distributed Systems at Continental Airlines.
"Making Reliability a Reality is one of the cornerstones of Continental's business plan, and Windows 2000 is helping us to do that." "We've already benefited from our investment in Windows 2000,"
said Bob White, CIO of Stride Rite.
"
We were able to deploy Windows 2000 Professional and Windows 2000 Server quickly and easily, and management tools such as Active Directory TM provide a powerful way for us to maintain our environment with more security and control than ever before." Extensive Windows 2000 Deployments While hundreds of companies have already begun their deployments, even more have detailed their Windows 2000 migration plans over the next few years. Customers such as The Boeing Company, Compaq Computer Corp., Dell Computer Corp., Eastman Chemical, Ernst & Young, Ford, General Motors, Hewlett-Packard Co., IBM Corp., the Internal Revenue Service, Merrill Lynch, Motorola Inc., Peoplesoft Inc., Prudential Insurance Company of America, Siemens, Texaco Inc. and Wells Fargo have committed to deploying the Windows 2000 family across almost 2 million desktops and servers. Microsoft is running its enterprise on Windows 2000 Professional, Windows 2000 Server and Windows 2000 Advanced Server. In fact, Microsoft is running over 75,000 workstations on Windows 2000 Professional and over 2,000 servers on Windows 2000 Server and Windows 2000 Advanced Server. In addition, 90 key line-of-business applications across the company are running successfully today on Windows 2000 Advanced Server, including the Microsoft Web site, http://www.microsoft.com/ . Top Web sites around the world are running on Windows 2000 today, including Adidas, Alaska Airlines, American Stock Exchange, barnesandnoble.com, Bigcharts/Marketwatch, BUY.COM, Dell.com, Fila, Fool.com, Forbes, General Motors, Hendrick motorsports, Hifi, HomeBuilder.com, HomeStore.com, HotBot.com, InfoSpace.com, Marthastewart.com, Microsoft, Monster.com, MSNBC, Nasdaq.com, Nordstrom.com, Olin.com, Realtor.com, Reel.com, Supermarket.com, SupermarketOnline, Ubid, UBL and VirtualBank.com. Dozens of customers are also deploying Windows 2000 Server and Windows 2000 Advanced Server in various Internet-based scenarios. Companies such as Assetrade.com, Clarus, CommerceOne.com, Commerx, Computerjobs.com, Concur, Farmbid, farms.com, Gmtradexchange.com, i2.com, OnlineOfficeSupplies, Pandesic.com, Pcorder.com, Purchasingcenter.com, Trainingnet.com, Vertical Net, VerticalNet.com and Workz.com are leading the way in building business-to-business e-commerce solutions on the Windows 2000 platform. More information on what customers are saying about Windows 2000 as the platform for the Business Internet is available at http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/guide/server/profiles/dotcoms/ . "Here at CDW, we've been evaluating Windows 2000 Advanced Server for some time now, and we're thrilled to see the benefits that it has already brought us on our Web site,"
said Jim Shanks, CIO of CDW.
"The enhanced reliability and scalability support our leading edge in servicing the business-to-business marketplace." "MVP.com is deploying Windows 2000 Server on our Web servers to take advantage of the product's improved performance and availability and ensure that our site is available whenever our customers want to shop,"
said John Costello, CEO of MVP.com.
"As our traffic grows exponentially, we will continue to integrate Microsoft technology into the MVP.com site to support our efforts of becoming the premier online sporting goods and outdoor equipment and apparel site." "We want to create a great online shopping experience for our customers at Nordstrom.com,"
said Paul Onnen, CTO of Nordstrom.com.
"Windows 2000 Server offers us a highly reliable and scalable architecture that helps us to develop a site that offers our customers a rich and rewarding online shopping experience." "We upgraded some RollingStone.com Web servers in January of 2000 and have experienced substantial increases in performance and reliability,"
said Scott Mitchell, CTO of RollingStone.com.
"The upgrade from the Windows NT operating system was fairly straightforward and trouble-free, and the built-in administrative features and services that Windows 2000 provides have enabled RollingStone.com to scale its work force, freeing up time to tackle bigger issues." Continued Economic Benefits in Deploying Windows 2000 Major corporations have already significantly benefited from the resources they have invested in Windows 2000. Companies such as Barnesandnoble.com, ADP Brokerage Services Group, Lockheed Martin EIS Co., Baltimore Gas and Electric, Credit Suisse First Boston (UK), and Eastman Chemical Co. have all found that their investment in Windows 2000 will pay itself back in under one year, with median cost reductions in the range of 14 percent, and significant bottom line benefits averaging 8 to 10 million dollars for midsize and large companies. "After rolling out over 5,000 desktops in the past quarter, we can definitely attest to the cost savings and increased productivity that Windows 2000 Professional provides,"
said Mike Enfield, lead analyst for Desktop Architecture at Motorola.
"Users need less technical support, configuration and problem solving, which frees up our time to roll out the rest of our 100,000 desktops and laptops." New Study Proves Windows 2000 Professional Provides Enhanced Reliability Microsoft engaged National Software Testing Laboratories (NSTL) to measure the reliability of Windows 2000 Professional and compare it to that of Windows 98 and Windows NT Workstation 4.0, in actual usage environments on production PCs at customer sites, including Charles Schwab and Texaco. Based on the data collected, NSTL concluded that in production environments, the average system uptime of Windows 2000 Professional is 13 times greater than that of Windows 98 and three times greater than that of Windows NT Workstation 4.0. With a mean time to failure of over 72 weeks, Windows 2000 Professional is significantly more reliable than Windows 98 and Windows NT Workstation 4.0. "Systems reliability, availability and manageability are critical issues for our company and ultimately our customers,"
said Bob Lee, vice president, Intranet and Distributed Technology, Charles Schwab.
"The data collected by NSTL shows that, in our environment, Windows 2000 Professional has a Mean Time to Failure of over 300 calendar days." About Windows 2000 Windows 2000 is an ideal platform for the next generation of business computing and addresses the full range of customers' computing needs, from laptops and desktops to high-end clustered servers. The operating system helps organizations Internet-enable their business with a reliable, manageable infrastructure that is optimized for existing and emerging hardware. More information about Windows 2000 is available at http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/ and http://www.microsoft.com/technet/ . Windows 2000 Professional is the operating system for desktops and notebooks for all sizes of business. Windows 2000 Server is an entry-level solution for running more reliable and manageable file, print, intranet, communications and infrastructure services. Windows 2000 Advanced Server provides all the features and benefits of Windows 2000 Server and includes additional functionality to enhance availability and scalability of e-commerce and line-of-business applications. Availability General availability of Windows 2000 Professional, Windows 2000 Server and Windows 2000 Advanced Server begins Feb. 17, 2000. Windows 2000 Datacenter Server is expected to be available approximately 120 days later. About Microsoft Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
"MSFT"
) is the worldwide leader in software 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, Windows, Windows NT and ActiveDirectory 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. 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 Microsoft's corporate information pages. Addendum Companies That Have Already Deployed Windows 2000 ABN AMRO Adidas AE Business Solutions AIMCO Alaska Airlines Alief ISD Alpha Technologies Inc. Alpine Computers amdax.com American Express American Stock Exchange Assetrade.com ATG AVENTEC Direct Bank of America Banyan Barclay's Global Investors Barnesandnoble.com Bass Computers Beers Construction Co. Bell Industries Bigcharts Marketwatch Blue Springs School District BORN Information Services BUY.COM Cargill Inc. Caterpillar CenterBeam Central Parking System Charles Schwab Chevron Cisco City of Louisville Clarus Colorado College Comcast Cable Corp. CommerceOne.com Commerx Compaq Compaq Services (Enterprise Partner) CompuCom Systems Inc. NJ Compuquest Corporate Services Computerjobs.com Concur Conoco Continental Airlines Conxion Corp. cornerdrugstore.com CorpInfo Services Credit Suisse First Boston (UK) Data General DataReturn Datatec Systems Inc. DeCarlo, Paternite and Associate Decision One Dell Computer Corp. Delphi Digex Dorsey - Whitney Dresdner Kleinwort Benson Ltd. Eastman Chemical ehome EnterAct Corp. ENTEX Information Services MN Ernst & Young International Farmbid farms.com Fila Fool.com Forbes Ford Forte Systems FreddieMac Fresno County Fujitsu Ltd. Futurelink.net General Motors Goinvest.com Gold Technology Goliath Networks Grant Prideco Grapevine Consulting Halifax Technologies Inc. Heald College Hendrick motorsports Hewlett-Packard Hifi Homelife HotBot.com Hy Tech i2.com IBM Corp. ICL IKON Office Solutions Inacom Inacom Oakland InfoSpace.com Infotec INS Intel Intellinet Corp. INTERIM Services Intesa Iowa Department of Corrections Keakillim Kizan KY KiZAN Technologies Knight Foundation Las Vegas Police Department LCM International Legasys Legal Systems Litton/PRC Corporate Lockheed Martin Corp. Lucent Technologies Marthastewart.com McFarlane Toys Merrill Lynch Microage Micron Electronic Inc. Microsoft Monster.com Motorola MSNBC NASA Nasdaq Nasdaq.com NEC Corp. Nedcor Bank New Data Strategies Nextel Communications Inc. Nordstrom.com Nortel Networks Northwest Kayaks Inc. Now Micro Inc. Oklahoma State Supreme Court Olin.com Omnitech Corporate Solutions One/Northwest OnLine Connecting Point OnlineOfficeSupplies onlineofficesupply.com Ontario Provincial Services Open University Orbital Sciences Corp. Pandesic Pcorder.com Peoplesoft Inc. personable.com Peters and Associates Philip Morris Phoenix Suns-Arizona Diamondbacks Plant Equipment Inc. Plasticsnet.com Procter & Gamble Prudential Publichost.com Purchasingcenter.com Quickstart Technologies Qwest Rainier Technology Rayovac realmed.com Realtor.com Reel.com Reuters River Tech Robert Half International San Francisco International Airport Sarcom Seattle Eye, M.D.s Seattle Mariners Seeuthere.com Shell Siemens Singapore Police Force SoftNet Systems Software Services Corp. Software Spectrum Co. Sprint Stride Rite SupermarketOnline Tate Consulting Tekshop Inc. Telus Texaco The Boeing Co. The Plaza Group The Polaris Group the weddinglist.com Thinktanks Worldwide.com TMG Trainingnet.com Travelers Insurance Troop, Steuber, Pasich, Reddick & Tobey LLP TRW tunes.com Ubid UBL Unisys VA United Defense University of Colorado University of Leicester University of Missouri University of Texas University of Wisconsin Van Andel Institute Verio.com Vertical Net Virtual Bank Voicestream Wang Global Warburg Dillon Read Warner Bros. Wells Fargo Bank WestPac WFofR Wilmer, Cutler and Pickering Workz.com WorldCom Advanced Networks Xerox connect GA
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