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Microsoft
Announces BackOffice Server 4.5
New Features Simplify Branch Office and Departmental Server
Deployments REDMOND, Wash. - Jan. 12, 1999 -Microsoft
Corp. today announced Microsoft® BackOffice® Server 4.5,
an integrated server suite, optimized for the Windows NT® Server
operating system, that simplifies the deployment, management and development of
powerful solutions for branch offices, departments and midsize organizations.
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 BackOffice Server Manager consoles for common administrative tasks.
BackOffice Server 4.5 delivers and integrates setup of the latest BackOffice
family components and service packs, including Microsoft SQL Server™ 7.0,
Systems Management Server 2.0 and 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 Rich Tong, vice president of marketing for the
application and tools group at 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 organization with a
standardized console for managing those servers." BackOffice Server 4.5 Simplifies Deployment 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 setup time and complexity. BackOffice BackOffice Server 4.5 Improves Administration With New
Management Consoles BackOffice Server 4.5 simplifies administration with a new
BackOffice Server Manager based on Microsoft Management Console technology. The
BackOffice Server Manager provides a single point of administration for common
suite-level tasks and includes four consoles optimized for entry-level help desk
technicians, Web administrators, branch administrators and central IT
administrators. Each console can be easily customized to incorporate in-house or
third-party management tools. BackOffice Server 4.5 Simplifies Development With Updated
Intranet Starter Site 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. BackOffice Server
4.5 also provides all of the key BackOffice platform components needed for
building rich 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 Exchange Server and the Outlook® 2000
messaging and collaboration client, and a Web server for deploying Office Server
Extensions.. 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 BackOffice family components and have been updated to include
support for Site Server 3.0, Microsoft Transaction Server and Office 2000 Web
Components. BackOffice Server Is Broadly Deployed Today in Large and
Midsize Enterprises BackOffice Server is used today as a branch office standard in
a number of leading banking, insurance and retail organizations and is deployed
in more than half of the Fortune 200 companies, 45 of 50 U.S. state governments
and all Cabinet-level federal agencies in the United States. First Security Corp., the largest financial services
organization in the Intermountain West with assets of about $20 billion, is
currently rolling out BackOffice Server to more than 25 campus locations
supporting between 500 and 1,500 users as well as to nearly 400 branch offices.
BackOffice Server provides a consistent means of deploying and managing
server-based file and print services, SNA Server connectivity, System Management
Server and SQL Server-based banking applications on each server. "In each of our campus and branch locations, BackOffice
Server has played a key role in our deployment of a standard, powerful and
reliable enterprise solution," said Al Pino, president of First Security
Information Technology Inc. "BackOffice Server lowered the cost and time
required to deploy our enterprise banking applications. The single point of
administration and consolidation of multiple applications on a single server
will lower our technology costs into the future." BackOffice Server also provides a reliable application server
solution for midsize organizations. Antelope Valley Hospital, a 355-bed facility
in Lancaster, Calif., uses BackOffice Server to run its day-to-day operations,
including patient records, operating room scheduling, and material and financial
applications. "BackOffice Server has allowed Antelope Valley Hospital to
easily roll out and manage a consistent infrastructure," said Ash Shehata,
director of information systems at Antelope Valley Hospital. "With
BackOffice Server, we have been able to consolidate servers and reduce
management and support costs by 20 percent." Antelope Valley runs Windows
NT Server 4.0, Internet Information Server 4.0, SQL Server, Microsoft Exchange
Server and Proxy Server on a single server. The Smart Way to License Microsoft BackOffice Family Software 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: BackOffice Server 4.5 also includes the following client
software: Outlook 2000 (Exchange or BackOffice Client Access License required),
FrontPage® 2000 Web site creation and management tool (single-user
license), Visual InterDev™ Web development system version 6.0 (single-user
license) and Seagate Crystal Info 6.0 (five-user license). The 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 BackOffice Server 4.5, regardless
of whether they are deployed as part of the 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 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 BackOffice products designed to meet their
needs. Pricing and Availability The BackOffice Server suite and Client Access License provide
the simplest and most cost-effective way to license and use the BackOffice
family of products. Pricing for 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. Customers in the United States and
Canada who obtain the current version, BackOffice Server 4.0, between Jan. 1,
1999, and May 30, 1999, will receive a free upgrade to BackOffice Server
4.5 (shipping and handling charges may apply). Microsoft is scheduled to begin
taking technology guarantee orders on Feb. 1, 1999. Additional information on BackOffice Server, including a Web
demonstration of new BackOffice Server 4.5 features, is available at the
Microsoft Web site at http://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. 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, BackOffice, Windows NT, Windows,
Outlook, FrontPage and Visual InterDev 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. Copyright (C)
1998-1999 The Active Network. All rights reserved.
Server 4.5 also introduces new features to automate the deployment of multiple
branch or departmental servers, including these:
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