MS Vista, Office 07 released for business use

MUMBAI

NOVEMBER 30, 2006

Microsoft India announced the business availability of the Windows Vista
operating system, the 2007 Microsoft Office system and Exchange Server 2007.
With this launch Windows Vista and the 2007 Microsoft Office release are now
available to volume licensing customers. The launch also marks the beginning of
the most significant product launch in company history and the first
simultaneous release of Microsoft's flagship products since the joint launch
of Windows 95 and Office 95 more than a decade ago.

Exchange Server 2007 is slated for release to organizations with volume
license agreements by the second week in December. Windows Vista and the 2007
Office system will be released to consumers and organizations without volume
license agreements on January 30.

According to Neelam Dhawan, MD, Microsoft India, the new versions of Windows,
the Office release and Exchange Server are the result of an unprecedented
collaboration between Microsoft and its customers. Real-life scenarios guided
product development through to feedback from customers who volunteered to let
Microsoft watch them work in more than 1 billion user sessions. During testing,
customers from around the world downloaded more than five million beta versions
of the three products and provided valuable feedback and suggestions.

“These products deliver game-changing innovation,” said Dhawan.
“We've made extraordinary investments in research and development, and
Windows Vista, the 2007 Office system and Exchange Server have been tested more
thoroughly than any other software products in history.”

“In India there has been an overwhelming response from both customers and
partners with over 350,000 Office 2007 Beta 2 CDs and 500,000 Windows Vista Beta
2CDs accessed so far. Over 1500+ partners have been a partner of the Partner
Readiness Programs and 40+ solutions have been developed to address diverse
business challenges. We are really excited by the response this platform has
elicited and are confident of its impact on the business environment in
India,” she further added.

Together, the three products focus on four critical areas:

- Simplifying how people work together.

- Finding information and improving business insight.

- Helping protect and manage content.

- Increasing security and helping reduce IT costs.

Windows Vista, the 2007 Microsoft Office system and Exchange Server 2007 also
provide the core platform that will enable businesses to take advantage of the
benefits of Internet-based software services. All three products incorporate key
XML and Web services technologies that will help companies tap into online
services and select the mix of on-premise and hosted applications to deliver the
right balance of control, convenience, cost-effectiveness and security while
helping increase productivity.