CHICAGO, March 15, 1999 - Today at National Manufacturing Week, Microsoft Corp. announced that leading independent software vendors (ISVs) have developed and plan to ship 34 manufacturing and supply chain applications built on Microsoftâ SQL Server™ 7.0 by April 1999. The applications developed include industrial automation solutions, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, product data management (PDM) solutions, warehouse management applications and distribution systems.

SQL Server 7.0, Microsoft's leading Windows^® operating system-based database, brings business advantage and improved decision-making to all levels of an organization through the power of data warehousing and industry solutions and through its interoperability with Microsoft Office. Scalable for businesses and industry applications of all sizes, SQL Server 7.0 enables ISVs and customers to build and deploy manufacturing and supply chain solutions to effectively utilize and manage data throughout a corporation and beyond to incorporate trading associates, suppliers and customers.

"The management of information in industries such as manufacturing and supply chain is essential to running a business efficiently," said Marcus Schmidt, industry marketing manager for supply chain and manufacturing at Microsoft. "It's exciting to see not only the sheer number of solutions beginning to ship on SQL Server 7.0, but also the tremendous robustness and functionality they offer to these industries."

SQL Server 7.0 is also a key component of and the database engine driving the recently launched Windows Distributed interNet Applications (Windows DNA) for Manufacturing architecture framework. Windows DNA for Manufacturing allows disparate manufacturing software applications to integrate seamlessly, enabling a proficient information exchange among distributed solutions from the shop floor and ERP processes. This integration helps improve a manufacturer's ability to gather, share and analyze key data elements and information throughout the enterprise in real time, resulting in better, more proactive business decisions, greater efficiency and reduced costs.

"We selected SCT's ADAGE solution, which is based natively on Microsoft SQL Server 7.0, to fulfill the performance and functionality we needed in an ERP system," said Joel Clark, vice president of accounting and information systems at Dairy Farmers of America Inc. "We were impressed with how fast and easy these technologies were to deploy at our American Dairy Brands division, and we expect to see these same types of benefits in the overall administration of our business as we deploy the solution across our enterprise. We plan to upgrade 50 sites containing more than 450 users to this platform in the next two years."

Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 is a defining release for Microsoft database products, building on the solid foundation established by SQL Server 6.5. As the most robust database for the Windows operating system, SQL Server is the RDBMS of choice for a broad spectrum of corporate customers and ISVs building business applications. Customers' needs and requirements have driven significant product innovations in ease of use, reliability and scalability, and data warehousing.

"SQL Server 7.0 addresses some of the most common challenges facing our customers today, such as performance, scalability and reliability," said Ted Hill, product marketing manager at Wonderware Corp. "By building such a powerful enterprise database technology into IndustrialSQL Server, we are delivering a cost-effective solution that provides our customers with a more comprehensive view of mission-critical information from multiple sources within their business."

Manufacturing vendors scheduled to ship SQL Server 7.0 by April 1999

• Iconics Inc.
• Intellution Inc.
• Real World Technologies
• Rockwell Software
• Sequencia Corp.
• USDATA Corp.
• Wonderware Corp.