Microsoft is celebrating the release of a new version of one of its most successful products outside of the desktop Windows and Office one-two punch.
Windows Server 2008, which is being feted in a series of launch events starting in Los Angeles today, is the flagship product of Microsoft's long-term effort to build a presence in the lucrative market for software that businesses run behind the scenes.
The part of the company that built the product, the Server and Tools unit, brought in sales of about $11.2 billion in the past fiscal year, more than one-fifth of Microsoft's total. It was very profitable, too, forming the third leg of the stool with Windows and Office.
Windows Server 2008, along with a set of programming tools called Visual Studio 2008 and database software SQL Server 2008, "will underpin growth from the Server and Tools business over the next several years," Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell said last month.
Microsoft launched its first server software 15 years ago. And while the venture has been successful — the business just chalked up its 22nd straight quarter of double-digit sales growth — the company does not enjoy the dominance it does on the desktop, which raises the stakes for each new server release.
Server software is the foundation layer for the workhorses of the information-technology world. The software controls powerful back-end server computers that run enterprise applications, networks, Web sites, e-mail and data centers.
Server sales last year, including hardware, reached $54.4 billion globally, the second-highest level on record after $61.6 billion in 2000, according to data being released today from market-tracking firm IDC.
Read more..
Windows Server 2008, which is being feted in a series of launch events starting in Los Angeles today, is the flagship product of Microsoft's long-term effort to build a presence in the lucrative market for software that businesses run behind the scenes.
The part of the company that built the product, the Server and Tools unit, brought in sales of about $11.2 billion in the past fiscal year, more than one-fifth of Microsoft's total. It was very profitable, too, forming the third leg of the stool with Windows and Office.
Windows Server 2008, along with a set of programming tools called Visual Studio 2008 and database software SQL Server 2008, "will underpin growth from the Server and Tools business over the next several years," Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell said last month.
Microsoft launched its first server software 15 years ago. And while the venture has been successful — the business just chalked up its 22nd straight quarter of double-digit sales growth — the company does not enjoy the dominance it does on the desktop, which raises the stakes for each new server release.
Server software is the foundation layer for the workhorses of the information-technology world. The software controls powerful back-end server computers that run enterprise applications, networks, Web sites, e-mail and data centers.
Server sales last year, including hardware, reached $54.4 billion globally, the second-highest level on record after $61.6 billion in 2000, according to data being released today from market-tracking firm IDC.
Read more..
