A week ahead of its long-awaited launch of Windows
Server 2003, Microsoft hass announced it is rolling out a new
umbrella brand for its array of server software.
Windows Server System is the portfolio name that will now
encompass more than a dozen Microsoft server software products.
Windows Server 2003 will be the foundation for the Windows Server
System line, with all of Microsoft's business server software
becoming part of the brand.
The line includes Microsoft's e-business server products such as
BizTalk Server, Commerce Server and Content Management Server; its
SQL Server data management software; its Exchange Server,
SharePoint Portal Server, Project Server and forthcoming Real-Time
Communications Server; and its management and security server
software.
Microsoft previously tied together most of those products under
the rubric ".Net Enterprise Servers."
That name, which was never an "official" brand in the way that
Windows Server System will be, is being retired, said Barry Goffe,
group product manager of Microsoft's server platform division "This
is the first time we've had a brand that brings together our entire
portfolio of server products with Windows Server."
The informal .Net Enterprise Servers grouping generally did not
include Windows Server and several other products, such as
Microsoft's Project Server and SharePoint Portal Server, he
said.
On its website, however, Microsoft lists all three of those
products in the .Net Enterprise Servers section.
The new Windows Server System brand change is intended to send
two messages to customers, Goffe said. First, that Windows Server
2003 is at the heart of the company's server strategy. Second, that
Microsoft's server products are being designed around a common
architecture to ensure their interoperability.
"We want to send a clear brand message: That we're committed to
lowering cost and complexity in IT through a complete, integrated
and interoperable infrastructure," Goffe said.
The noteworthy aspect of the branding change is its signal that
Microsoft is, like many other IT vendors, highlighting for
customers the integration of its offerings, said Forrester Research
analyst Ted Schadler.
Microsoft has been quietly removing .Net from a number of its
product names, while continuing to emphasise the technology's key
behind-the-scenes role as a unifying architecture underlying all of
Microsoft's software development.
That unification will pay off for customers, as Microsoft works
to make its Visual Studio .Net software a one-stop development
environment, Schadler said.
"Over the next 18 months, you'll be able to program every
Microsoft server with Visual Studio .Net," he said. "On a single
workspace you'll be able to have a view of all the server assets
and build a complete programming model."
The Windows Server System brand name will kick off on 24 April,
in conjunction with Windows Server 2003's launch. The brand will be
incorporated into Microsoft's website and its marketing
communications, the company said.