Leading ISVs Announce Support for Microsoft Windows 2000

More than 75 Leading ISVs Prepare Applications for Windows 2000

REDMOND, Wash. - April 12, 1999 - Microsoft Corp. today announced overwhelming support for the Microsoft^® Windows^® 2000 Professional operating system and Windows 2000 Server from the independent software vendor (ISV) community. Applications from companies such as The Baan Co., Seagate Software and Visio Corp. are explicitly taking advantage of new technologies in Windows 2000, as defined by the Windows 2000-based Application Specification, and application vendors are ensuring application compatibility with Windows 2000. Microsoft also announced the Application Catalog for Windows 2000, available with the upcoming release of beta 3 for Windows 2000, which is designed to provide customers with the information they need to ensure that their applications will be both compatible and reliable.

"Microsoft is thrilled with the breadth and volume of exciting innovation taking place on the Windows platform, thanks to our ISV partners," said Brian Valentine, vice president of the Business Enterprise Division at Microsoft. "Applications designed for Windows 2000 will deliver the highest reliability and manageability ever seen on the Windows platform."

ISV Support for Windows 2000

More than 75 independent software vendors are demonstrating their support for the upcoming Windows 2000 beta 3 platform, and many are participating in the Microsoft Partner Pavilion at COMDEX/Spring (Windows World) the week of April 19. A list of vendors demonstrating Windows 2000-based applications in the Microsoft Partner Pavilion or announcing support for Windows 2000 appears at the end of this document.

"Windows 2000 Server provides a powerful overall platform for our ERP solutions," said Andrew Dailey, senior vice president of Product Marketing at Baan. "Baan and Microsoft continue to work closely together to ensure that Baan integrated enterprise applications take advantage of the unique features of, and demonstrate a tight level of integration with, Windows 2000 Server and its Active Directory™ services."

Leading ISVs are creating business applications for accounting, commerce, construction, customer management, data warehousing, document management, energy, engineering, enterprise resource planning (ERP), financial services, health care, hospitality, insurance, legal, justice and public safety, manufacturing, publishing, real estate and property management, retail, supply chain, and utilities industries.

Application Catalog Designed for Customers

As Microsoft continues to work closely with ISVs worldwide, customers can obtain the latest information about their software from the new Application Catalog for the Windows 2000 Web site. This catalog, available with the release of beta 3 later this month, is part of the previously announced Windows 2000 Readiness Program for Applications and Developers and will be found at http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/ready/.

"We view the move to Windows 2000 as the cornerstone of our efforts to reduce the cost of enterprise computing," said Henry Nash, global head of IT Engineering at Credit Suisse First Boston. "Applications that adhere to the Application Specification are an indispensable component of this effort. We have been providing input into the creation of the specification, and we believe applications that adhere to it will be much easier to manage. We plan to incorporate compliance with this specification into our purchase criteria for new applications and will make it a part of our internal application development guidelines. We sincerely hope that application vendors will embrace these standards and that, along with Microsoft, we can work together to substantially reduce the costs involved in installing and maintaining applications."

The catalog will be the definitive source for information on Windows 2000-based applications including product descriptions, the level of the product's compatibility with Windows 2000, links to company Web sites, and any available support information.

Customers will be able to see the status of their applications based on the following three levels of ISV commitment:

• Windows 2000 "Ready" indicates that the product has been tested to ensure compatibility with the Windows 2000 platform.
• Windows 2000 "Gold" indicates that the product has been tested by an independent testing organization to take advantage of key features in Windows 2000, as defined by the Microsoft Windows 2000-based Application Specification.
• Windows 2000 "Planned/Ready" or "Planned/Gold" indicates that the product is intended to achieve one of the levels listed above, once the product is fully tested.

Applications Designed for Windows 2000

Applications optimized for Windows 2000, as defined by the Microsoft Windows 2000-based Application Specification, will deliver greater reliability than ever before.

"Visio 2000, the next generation of the Visio product family, utilizes the technological enhancements in Windows 2000 to provide incremental benefits for our users," said Peter Mullen, vice president and general manager of the Business Products Group at Visio. "For our corporate customers, the Windows 2000 Installer Technology, within Visio 2000, will simplify the application deployment and upgrade process and provide administrators with a powerful tool with which to manage their environments. The on-demand installation capability and dynamic repair feature will ensure that Visio 2000 is always available and operational exactly as users need it."

The applications for Windows 2000 Professional and Windows 2000 Server provide numerous benefits to help ensure reliability and availability to customers running applications on the Windows 2000 platform:

• Easier software deployment and management for organizations
• The ability of network administrators to run applications in secure, controlled environments
• A consistent "roaming user" experience, support for multiple users per machine, and regeneration of application settings in machine replacement scenarios
• Power management support for a superior mobile computing experience
• Simplified tasks for users through the Active Directory directory services, making it easier to find resources through an enterprise network

About Microsoft Windows 2000

Windows 2000 Professional is designed to be the most reliable business and mobile desktop operating system for organizations of all sizes. Windows 2000 Server combines integrated Web-ready directory, network and application services with powerful end-to-end management to provide the fastest way to accomplish digital business. When used together, the Windows 2000 Server and Windows 2000 Professional lower the overall cost of ownership and provide a robust, adaptive digital infrastructure for organizations of all sizes.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.

Microsoft, Windows and Active Directory are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

Other product and company names herein may be 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.

Independent Software Vendors Supporting Windows 2000

ACCPAC International Inc.

Accura Software Inc.

Acotec

Active Voice Corp.

American Power Conversion

ASNA Inc.

Autodesk Inc.

The Baan Co.

Banyan Systems Inc.

Blue Curve Inc.

BMC Software Inc.

Callisto Software Inc.

Camstar Systems Inc.

CEDAR Systems Inc.

ChannelWave Software Inc.

ChannelWave

Computer Associates International Inc.

Compuware Corp.

DataChannel Inc.

MKS/Data Focus Inc.

Datastream International Ltd.

Dialog Software

EMC Corp.

Entevo Corp.

E.piphany

Executive Software International Inc.

Fastlane Technologies Inc.

FileNET Corp.

Gemplus

GoldMine Software Corp.

Great Plains Software Inc.

Hauppauge Computer Works Inc.

HighGround Systems Inc.

Hewlett-Packard Co.

Hummingbird Communications Ltd.

IBM Corp.

Info Directions Inc.

Informix Software Inc.

InstallShield Software Corp.

Internet Security Systems Inc.

ISOCOR

J.D. Edwards & Co.

Keyfile Corp.

Kingston Technology Corp.

Legato Systems Inc.

Lucent Technologies Inc.

Martin Sales International

MediaPhonics Corp.

Mission Critical Software Inc.

Moss Software Inc.

Motiva Software Corp.

National Instruments Corp.

Navision Software US Inc.

NCR Corp.

NetIQ Corp.

NetPro Computing Inc.

Network Associates Inc.

Network Computing Devices Inc.

Novadigm Inc.

NuView Inc.

Open Systems Solutions Inc.

Picazo Communications Inc.

Productivity Point International Inc.

Real World Corp.

Remedy Corp.

RightFAX Inc.

SBT Accounting Systems

Seagate Software

Security Dynamics Technologies Inc.

Silanis Technology Inc.

Smart Team International

Software Metrics Inc.

SolidWorks Corp.

Solomon Software

SourceMate

Telco Research Corp.

Tivoli Systems Inc.

Ultimate Software Group Inc.

Visio Corp.

Wall Data Inc.

Wise Solutions, Inc.

W. Quinn Associates Inc.

WRQ Inc.

Wyse Technology Inc.

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