News

Microsoft Delivers New Network Services

• By Scott Bekker
• 10/11/1999

At Telecom 99 on Saturday Microsoft Corp. unveiled a range of solutions that will enable service providers to deliver new next-generation, end-to-end network services for their consumer and business customers. With these solutions, service providers can take advantage of PC-based technologies to deploy network services. At the same time, the solutions can provide customers and businesses -- the service providers’ customers -- with the ability to access their information any time, anywhere and from any device.

Microsoft plans to introduce several end-to-end solutions, including:

· Mobile data services, which will allow users to remotely access corporate data, wireless messaging and mobile e-commerce services via mobile phones or handheld PCs running Microsoft Windows CE, as well as Smart Card systems enhanced with e-mail, calendar, stock quotes and other Internet applications.

· Hosting and application service provider (ASP) services, showing how products from Microsoft can enable service providers to quickly deploy e-commerce and applications hosting services to their business customers.

· Consumer-focused online services, showing how Microsoft and solution vendors can help service providers build a consumer online business that makes optimal use of both narrowband and broadband environments using platforms such as Windows 2000 Server and services such as the MSN.com network.

· Internet protocol (IP) communications services, showing a range of next-generation communications solutions for businesses of all sizes, which use Microsoft platforms to unify voice and data services.

"Together with solution vendors, Microsoft can provide great solutions for service providers throughout the world to deploy next-generation network services," says Thomas Koll, vice president of the network solutions group at Microsoft. "We are excited to show how service providers can use solutions based on Microsoft platforms to deliver services to their customers -- any time, anywhere and on any device."