LOS ANGELES - April 7, 1999 -Today at the Windows^® Hardware Engineering Conference and Exhibition (WinHEC) 99, Intel Corp. and Microsoft Corp. demonstrated a server appliance prototype for small businesses based on the Intel^® architecture and the Microsoft^® Windows NT^® Embedded 4.0 operating system. Products based on these building blocks are expected to be available from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the second half of this year and will provide a simple and affordable way for small businesses to enjoy the productivity and benefits of networking.

"Small-business customers have asked us for easy networking solutions for sharing information and connecting to the Internet," said Jim Allchin, senior vice president, Personal and Business Systems Group, Microsoft. "Together, Microsoft and Intel are addressing customer needs by delivering an easy-to-use, highly reliable Windows-based appliance."

"We are working closely with Microsoft to provide our customers with easy-to-use, reliable solutions for small businesses," said John Miner, vice president and general manager of Intel's Enterprise and Server Group. "Intel technology and Microsoft Windows NT Embedded 4.0 will provide building blocks for small businesses with a highly reliable, cost-effective platform for getting connected to the Internet and realizing the benefits of client/server computing."

Designed to be set up by users without technical know-how in less than 30 minutes, the server appliance provides a highly reliable fixed-function network solution preinstalled with all of the software needed for file, print and firewall-protected Internet content sharing. Internet sharing provides small businesses with the ability to cut costs for Internet connectivity by migrating from several phone lines to a single phone line or high-speed connection that can be shared by multiple users.

According to International Data Corp. research, network adoption among PC-owning small businesses with fewer than 20 employees is less than 30 percent today. The small-business server appliance market segment represents just one part of the rapidly growing overall server appliance market segment.

"To date, the network adoption rate among small-business owners has lagged far behind their use of other technologies such as PCs and the Internet," said Warren Childs, technology analyst, International Data Corp. "By addressing the ease-of-use issues that are of chief concern to small businesses, Microsoft and Intel working together will have a significant impact on the growth of small-business networking."

More information on the Windows Server Appliance for small businesses can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/embedded/.