Microsoft announces BackOffice Server 4.5 new features simplify branch office and departmental server deployments

Microsoft Corporation today announced Microsoft BackOffice Server 4.5, an integrated server suite, optimised for the Microsoft Windows NT Server operating system, that simplifies the deployment, management and development of powerful solutions for branch offices, departments and midsize organisations.

Microsoft BackOffice Server 4.5, currently in beta testing, introduces new features for deploying a consistent branch office or departmental infrastructure, and a set of targeted Microsoft BackOffice Server Manager consoles for common administrative tasks. Microsoft BackOffice Server 4.5 delivers and integrates set-up of the latest Microsoft BackOffice family components and service packs, including Microsoft SQL Server 7.0, Systems Management Server 2.0 and Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Service Pack 4.

"Customers have told us they want to consolidate the number of servers they are managing and reduce the complexity of administering those servers," said Ian Hatton, business systems division product manager for Microsoft South Africa. "Microsoft BackOffice Server makes it easy to drop an integrated infrastructure or application server into a branch or department and replicate that configuration throughout the organisation with a standardised console for managing those servers."

Microsoft BackOffice Server speeds up server configuration by automatically detecting the current configuration, recommending the appropriate component and service pack upgrades, and defaulting many common parameters, reducing set-up time and complexity.

Microsoft BackOffice Server 4.5 also introduces new features to automate the deployment of multiple branch or departmental servers, including these:

• Reusable set-up scripts. Once a standard server configuration has been established, an unattended set-up script can be generated automatically.

• Microsoft BackOffice Server deployment wizard. This tool allows systems managers to replicate a single server script across hundreds of servers, automatically updating machine names and parameter settings as required.

• Branch office set-up scenario. This feature will automatically set the proper settings for a remote location, such as joining an existing Microsoft Exchange Server site and setting up a secondary Systems Management Server site.

Microsoft BackOffice Server 4.5 simplifies administration with a new Microsoft BackOffice Server Manager based on Microsoft Management Console technology. The Microsoft BackOffice Server Manager provides a single point of administration for common suite-level tasks and includes four consoles optimised for entry-level help desk technicians, Web administrators, branch administrators and central IT administrators. Each console can be easily customised to incorporate in-house or third-party management tools.

Microsoft BackOffice Server 4.5 provides the easy way for customers to roll out and manage a Windows Distributed interNet Applications (Windows DNA) architecture, providing key application server components, including a Web, e-mail, collaboration, database and search server, and services for host integration, Internet access and desktop management. Microsoft BackOffice Server 4.5 also provides all of the key Microsoft BackOffice platform components needed for building rich Microsoft Office 2000 compatible solutions, including an OLAP Server in SQL Server 7.0 that integrates with Microsoft Excel, e-mail and collaboration functionality based on Microsoft Exchange Server and the Microsoft Outlook 2000 messaging and collaboration client, and a Web server for deploying Microsoft Office Server Extensions.

Microsoft BackOffice Server helps jump-start Web development by automatically setting up a fully functional intranet starter site out of the box with seven starter applications, including news, document library, events calendar, discussions, expense tracking and help desk applications. These starter applications demonstrate how to build powerful Web solutions that integrate multiple Microsoft BackOffice family components and have been updated to include support for Microsoft Site Server 3.0, Microsoft Transaction Server and Office 2000 Web Components.

Microsoft BackOffice Server is used today as a branch office standard in a number of leading banking, insurance and retail organisations and is deployed in more than half of the Fortune 200 companies.

Microsoft BackOffice Server 4.5 reduces license administration costs by providing a single license for all of the components installed on a single server. Customers are free to use any or all of the following:

• Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0

• Microsoft Windows NT Option Pack (including Internet Information Server 4.0, Microsoft Transaction Server 2..0 and Microsoft Message QueuServer 1.0)

• Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5

• Microsoft Proxy Server 2.0

• Microsoft SNA Server 4.0

• Microsoft SQL Server 7.0

• Microsoft Site Server 3.0

• Microsoft Systems Management Server 2.0

Microsoft BackOffice Server 4.5 also includes the following client software: Microsoft Outlook 2000 (Exchange or BackOffice Client Access License required), Microsoft FrontPage 2000 Web site creation and management tool (single-user license), Microsoft Visual InterDev Web development system version 6.0 (single-user license) and Seagate Crystal Info 6.0 (five-user license).

The Microsoft BackOffice Client Access License, also updated with this release, reduces license administration costs by providing a single license for user access to any or all of the components in Microsoft BackOffice Server 4.5, regardless of whether they are deployed as part of the Microsoft BackOffice Server 4.5 suite or as standalone components.

The Microsoft BackOffice family is a comprehensive set of integrated server products to run businesses of all sizes. The Microsoft BackOffice family includes Microsoft BackOffice Small Business Server, BackOffice Server and the individual BackOffice applications. As businesses grow and demand more from their technology, they will find Microsoft BackOffice products designed to meet their needs.

The Microsoft BackOffice Server suite and Client Access License provide the simplest and most cost-effective way to license and use the Microsoft BackOffice family of products. Pricing for Microsoft BackOffice Server 4.5 has not yet been determined. Currently in beta testing, general availability of BackOffice Server 4.5 is expected in the first half of 1999.

Additional information on Microsoft BackOffice Server, including a Web demonstration of new Microsoft BackOffice Server 4.5 features, is available at the Microsoft Web site at www.microsoft.com/backofficeserver. Customers interested in participating in the worldwide Microsoft BackOffice Server 4.5 beta program should apply by sending e-mail to bbeta@microsoft.com. Customers should include the following in their e-mail: name, title, company, e-mail address, shipping address and phone number.