One of the stars of the 16th annual Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) in Los Angeles this week is Windows Server 2008 (formerly code-named Windows Server “Longhorn”).

This next-generation server operating system from Microsoft, currently in Beta 3, will be the most reliable and secure server platform ever delivered from Microsoft. Windows Server 2008 builds on the reliability, security and manageability of Windows Server 2003 R2 to help alleviate pressures on IT professionals with added enhancements to further automate daily management tasks, tighten security, provide a more extensible platform for hosting and web applications, improve efficiency and increase network availability. When Microsoft releases Windows Server 2008 to manufacturing later this year, they will include their first widely distributed beta of the new hypervisor based virtualization technology. Windows Server 2008 will enable a range of new solutions from Microsoft and create a wave of hardware innovation throughout the IT industry.

To learn more about Windows Server 2008 and the opportunities it is expected to create for Microsoft partners and customers worldwide, PressPass spoke with Bill Laing, general manager of the Windows Server Division at Microsoft.