|
Microsoft Corp. announced today that the company is anticipating that the next version of its client operating system, Windows 7, will be available to customers in time for the holiday shopping season. In addition, Windows Server 2008 R2 Release Candidate (RC) is available today with the final product releasing to market in the same timeframe as Windows 7.
“Microsoft is committed to ensuring that IT professionals and developers continue to have the platform and technologies to drive maximum value and business results. Getting the most out of IT investments is even more important in today’s economy,” said Bill Veghte, senior vice president of the Windows Business at Microsoft, who delivered a keynote speech at the event. During his speech, Veghte also talked about incredible partner support for Windows 7 and gave updated guidance on availability: “With early RC testing and extensive partner feedback we’ve received, Windows 7 is tracking well for holiday availability.”
Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 include security, reliability and productivity enhancements, which, when used together, help deliver significant cost savings and productivity gains with features such as DirectAccess and BranchCache. As recently announced, Windows 7 RC is available for public download HERE .
Windows Server 2008 R2 RC includes several new capabilities, such as File Classification Infrastructure (FCI), a built-in solution for file classification and management. In addition, Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V now gives customers the ability to scale up to 64 logical processors, delivers improved Web experiences with Internet Information Services (IIS) 7.5, and offers increased hardware utilization and server availability with built-in Live Migration for virtualization technologies. Windows Server 2008 R2 RC is available for immediate download HERE .
Michael Cherry, an analyst with Directions on Microsoft, acknowledged these benefits in a report titled “Windows 7 Integrates with Windows Server 2008 R2,” which states, “Organizations that upgrade both clients and servers simultaneously could benefit from new features such as DirectAccess, which helps remote users connect to their organization’s internal network, and BranchCache, which reduces network traffic between the main and branch offices.” Cherry also reported that both products can help organizations reduce operational costs and support requirements.
TechEd attendees will also get the first opportunity to participate in the invitation-only Microsoft Office 2010 Technical Preview program, which will be available in July 2009. The Microsoft Office 2010 wave of products boosts productivity by giving users a familiar experience across the PC, phone and browser. For IT professionals, Office 2010 will offer more choice and flexibility in how they buy and manage their IT assets, helping them reduce costs. For developers, it will provide a platform for building innovative, connected Office-related applications with greater ease. More information is available HERE .
Finally, Microsoft announced that a Community Technology Preview of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 (formerly SQL Server code-named “Kilimanjaro”) will be available in the second half of 2009. SQL Server 2008 R2 will empower end users to make better decisions through self-service business intelligence, and help IT drive greater efficiency and reduce costs through new capabilities such as multi-server management and Master Data Services. In 2010, Microsoft will also introduce complex event processing for real-time insight into streaming information.
|
