(May 21, 2002) -Microsoft Corp. has announced the product strategy for the next version of SharePoint® Products and Technologies, the company's enterprise portal and collaboration solution. The next version of SharePoint utilizes the application server technologies in Windows® .NET Server to deliver a robust portal and collaboration framework based on Microsoft® .NET. SharePoint Portal Server and SharePoint Team Services will be tightly integrated, providing a unified environment that connects users to information, enterprise applications, and collaborative tools throughout the enterprise.

Since the introduction of SharePoint Products and Technologies one year ago, tens of thousands of SharePoint Team Services Web sites have been deployed in organizations around the world, and SharePoint Portal Server has sold more than 3 million seats.

The next version of SharePoint Portal Server will deliver a highly scalable and customizable portal application with information aggregation, advanced search capabilities, and mainstream enterprise application integration, provided via integration with Microsoft BizTalk® Server. Additional improvements include single sign-on, personalization, and integration with Microsoft Content Management Server, building on the Content Management Server with SharePoint Portal Server 2001 Integration Pack.

Microsoft will focus on three key investment areas for the next generation of SharePoint Products and Technologies. First, by building on the .NET Framework, SharePoint technology will natively support XML Web services and will provide the most integrated portal solution on the Windows .NET Server platform. Second, enhancements to SharePoint Portal Server 2001 will build on the strength of the Microsoft .NET Enterprise Server family to deliver a robust, scalable portal solution for the enterprise. Third, in the team collaboration space, the next release of SharePoint Team Services will provide rich, flexible team workspace capabilities that will serve as the engine for enterprise collaboration, from the individual level to the corporate level. The combination of a rich collaboration environment in SharePoint Team Services and the unified portal capabilities in SharePoint Portal Server will allow customers to effectively build, manage and connect islands of team productivity across an enterprise.

Microsoft .NET is the company's strategy for next-generation XML Web services and applications that connect people, devices, and information throughout the Internet in seamless, secure ways. In addition to taking advantage of the .NET Framework, ASP.NET, and XML, the next generation of SharePoint Products and Technologies will allow developers to use Visual Studio® .NET to extend and customize portals as well as portal-enable other applications. This will enable a rich portal and collaboration environment that brings the value of integrated XML Web services to the end user.