Microsoft is 'betting the farm` on Windows 2000

Johannesburg, 17 Feb 2000

Microsoft SA yesterday launched its Windows 2000 operating system in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.

Ian Hatton, Windows 2000 product manager at Microsoft SA, says over 8 000 people registered for 11 different events, and it is estimated that over 13 000 man-hours of training were conducted at the three venues.

Mark Hill, MD of Microsoft SA, said at a press conference at Gallagher Estate in Midrand that the company is "betting the farm on this product, which will make Internet business a reality".

Hill said he expects rapid deployment of the desktop version of Windows 2000, while the uptake in Windows NT server environments will take a lot longer, with planning requiring up to 18 months.

Dispersing some concerns raised about security issues, Hill said that Windows 2000 was "the most tested product we`ve ever brought to the market".

"No product is absolutely secure," Hill added. "There`s no way you can stop attacks to Web servers, just like you cannot stop crime. But we have built into Windows 2000 the tools that allow you to manage security adequately."

Microsoft`s platinum partners, Compaq, Cisco and SAP also took part in the launch event.

Bill Nuti, VP of Cisco EMEA, said that the platinum partnership status will give Cisco a competitive advantage in bringing Internet solutions to market. Microsoft`s Digital Nervous System technology is "an Internet ecosystem partner for Cisco", he said. The two companies will combine quality of service networking solutions with Microsoft`s directory services - The Active Directory technology.

Pam Sylvester, marketing director at Compaq SA, said that Windows 2000 was designed, developed and tested on Compaq hardware and that Windows 2000 has been ported to 18 000 Compaq PCs and 300 servers - the largest installation of Windows 2000 outside Microsoft. Sylvester stressed increased availability of the new operating system, with reduced number of system re-boots and advanced ability of hardware hot-plugging.

George Oertel, MD of SAP South Africa, said that over 60% of SAP South Africa installations are currently running on Windows NT and that SAP was serious about ensuring that Windows 2000 was adopted as the most reliable and manageable platform for SAP`s enterprise applications.