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Microsoft Unveils Common Engineering Roadmap for Windows Server Products in 2006

Microsoft took the opportunity at the TechEd 2005 conference last week to unveil a new Common Engineering Roadmap for the Windows Server System products being launched during Microsoft's fiscal year 2006, which begins July 1. According to Microsoft, the document "lays out an engineering process that every Windows Server System product will follow" and provides a way for Microsoft to communicate the progress it's made in meeting those standards prior to product launches (and a way for Microsoft to explain why it hasn't met the criteria, if it decides to make an exception).

According to the 20-page document, which can be downloaded from this page, Microsoft is focusing on three areas for development in fiscal 2006, including .NET, the Dynamic Systems Initiative (DSI), and its Trustworthy Computing initiative. The 2005 version of the roadmap defined 16 criteria that Microsoft would strive to implement across its Windows Server product lines, and in 2006, says it has added seven more. Under the "More Secure and Reliable Infrastructure" heading, Microsoft has added three new criteria, including "Infrastructure for Fast Data Backup and Restore," "Automated Dependency Check During Install," and "Service Discoverability Via Active Directory." Under the heading of "Consistent Management and Lower TCO," Microsoft has added four new criteria, including "Best Practice Analyzer," "Remote Server Software Installation," "Products to Be 'World-Ready,'" and "Consistent End-User Licensing Agreements."

AT&T, Sylantro Systems Partnerships Bolster Microsoft's VoIP Strategy

Microsoft's voice over IP (VoIP) strategy became a little more clear this week after the software titan announced new partnerships with AT&T and Sylantro Systems. As part of the deal with Sylantro, the companies will work to integrate Sylantro's Application Feature Server with the Microsoft Solution for Hosted Messaging and Collaboration, a hosted offering that delivers access to Exchange Server 2003, Live Communications Server 2005, and the SharePoint portal. The combination of The Microsoft Solution and Sylantro will enable service providers to offer subscribers combined VoIP, e-mail, collaboration, presence, instant messaging, and desktop services, the companies say. Meanwhile, Microsoft and AT&T embarked upon a five-year partnership to co-develop and sell the next generation of digital communication offerings. As part of the alliance, the companies will work to integrate AT&T's VoIP services with Microsoft's Connected Services Framework, a recently announced amalgam of various Microsoft products, including Windows Server, BizTalk Server, SQL Server, and Visual Studio .NET, that will provide "a unified platform for creating, aggregating, and managing converged [wire and wireless] services." The goal is to provide AT&T and Microsoft customers with "click-to-dial" capabilities within any Microsoft Office application.

Microsoft Talks Up Forthcoming RFID 'Infrastructure'

Microsoft took the opportunity this week at TechEd 2005 to announce a radio frequency identification (RFID) strategy. While the announcement was a little short on specifics, Microsoft said its forthcoming RFID "infrastructure" will be based on the .NET Framework and Windows Server, that it will feature a "strong event management layer with a proven business rules engine," and that it will be embedded within third-party applications or used on its own to capture and interpret data from sensors. The RFID infrastructure will address many of the pain points that early RFID users have found with their initial roll-outs, including lack of standards, limited solutions to cleanse data, costly integration with business applications, and complexity of device management, Microsoft says. "The intent is to reduce the complexity and cost of integrating and managing RFID data in a company," says Paul Flessner, vice president of server applications. No timeline was given for the delivery of the RFID infrastructure.

Microsoft Targets RIM Blackberry with Enhancements to Exchange and Windows Mobile

Microsoft announced upcoming enhancements to its Windows Mobile and Exchange Server products this week with hopes of effectively competing against Research In Motion's Blackberry e-mail service. The Messaging and Security Feature Pack for Windows Mobile 5.0 and new wireless features coming in Exchange Server 2003 with Service Pack 2 (SP2) which is not yet available, will enable Microsoft to deliver a "push" e-mail service that competes with RIM's Blackberry. Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's CEO, said the two products will ship later this year and will "allow for the kind of direct mobile messaging that all of you want," he said. "You put them on a Windows Mobile device, you upgrade your Exchange Server to 2003 Service Pack 2, and instantly out of the box, you get always-up-to-date push e-mail, the kind that we have not delivered and RIM has historically delivered."

Loss of Citigroup Tapes Renews Calls for National Security Breach Law for Consumers

Esker Says Companies Still Run Their Businesses in Spreadsheets and Word Processors

If you are still somewhat uncomfortable with electronic invoicing and online banking, you are not alone. According to a survey of 500 finance and billing employees at companies in North America performed by Esker Software, 73 percent of those polled said that they still generate business documents such as invoices, purchase orders, contracts, and other documents with word processors; another 45 percent use desktop spreadsheet programs as well to generate these documents. The Esker poll also showed that 82 percent of companies would rather get their bills by old-fashioned snail mail. About 64 percent of billing managers used snail mail to push out invoices. Clearly, all of the companies that peddle electronic document management software have not entirely reached corporations with the idea that they can speed delivery of invoices and save money by getting this correspondence into fax or email and out of the post.

Venture Capitalists Complete Attachmate Buy, Deny Rumors of Product Discontinuance

The venture capitalist group that bought connectivity software provider WRQ in December 2004 and followed up that acquisition by buying rival Attachmate in April has finished that deal and is now operating under the name AttachmateWRQ. The company says that the consolidation of the two companies' operations will be finished within the next 60 to 90 days. Jeff Hawn, AttachmateWRQ's chairman and CEO, said that the company aims to honor all existing contracts and commitments, and he was keen on putting to rest some rumors that have been going around that one of the product lines would be discontinued. He did not want to provide any details on product roadmaps yet, but he did want to put to rest these rumors. "We have no plans to discontinue any products," he explained. "AttachmateWRQ listens closely to customers; we will continue to work with them to determine how best to meet their needs." Golden Gate Capital, Francisco Partners, and Thoma Cressey Equity Partners are the investors behind AttachmateWRQ.