Microsoft Corp. today announced the Microsoft Hosting Program, a free offering that provides hosting companies with technical tools and resources to help them deploy and manage Microsoft� products. By participating in the program, hosting service providers can streamline their operations by maximizing opportunities for quicker application and service deployment and better management of existing systems. Ultimately, this can help hosting service providers better utilize resources, which in turn can help lower costs and increase average revenue per user.

The Microsoft Hosting Program provides hosting providers with free download access to both the Microsoft Solution for Windows�-based Hosting and the Microsoft Solution for Hosted Messaging and Collaboration. Members also receive a monthly newsletter that includes valuable technical information, product updates and case studies to help demonstrate the many uses of Microsoft hosting products, as well as marketing resources and toolkits to help members better target customers. In addition, participating organizations become eligible for the Services Provider License Agreement, a licensing program that enables service providers to license Microsoft products on a monthly basis to offer services and hosted applications to their end customers.

�gHosting service providers represent an important channel for Microsoft,�h said Pascal Martin, general manager of Worldwide Hosting at Microsoft. �gWe are making strong investments in technical and marketing solutions that help them rapidly deploy and profitably operate offerings that address the needs of their customers. The Microsoft Hosting Program announced today is vital in giving our service provider partners the solutions and additional knowledge, tools and community resources they need to successfully grow their business on the Windows platform.�h