Microsoft Corp. on Friday announced it has released Windows Server 2003 to manufacturing. The company's best-performing, highest-quality Windows server operating system released to date, Windows Server 2003 delivers an integrated server platform that enables customers to run their IT infrastructure up to 30 percent more efficiently. By completing a rigorous new testing program including a thorough line-by-line code audit, Windows Server 2003 incorporates innovative new security and reliability features that ensure the product is more secure by design. The new server platform is already receiving widespread partner support and customer interest worldwide: Microsoft has been preparing over 70,000 industry partners to market, deploy and service Windows Server 2003 when it launches April 24. More than 550,000 customers signed up for preview program betas, the highest number for any server in the history of the company. "Our mandate was clear: build a customer-driven release that delivers a breakthrough in quality, No. 1 in performance and unprecedented value for business of all sizes," said Bill Veghte, corporate vice president of the Windows Server Division at Microsoft. "Our early-adopter customers are confirming that Windows Server 2003 is delivering by driving down overall IT costs and providing the highest level of performance and reliability. The quality of this product is a testament to our customers' and partners' invaluable contributions in the development of Windows Server 2003." With significant improvements to core server fundamentals, including scalability, reliability, security and manageability, as well as technological innovations, Windows Server 2003 creates opportunities for customers of all sizes to drive down costs and increase productivity. Early results from customers deploying the product include these: Consolidation. 20 to 30 percent reduction in servers Performance. Twice as fast across all workloads Management. 20 percent reduction in overall costs Productivity. 35 percent of customers redeployed IT staff to higher-value projects Deployment. 50 percent reduction in cost over Windows NT® Server 4.0 Windows NT Server 4.0 customers migrating to Windows Server 2003 will see the biggest benefits, with systems that are 100 times more scalable at one-tenth the cost per transaction as compared to when Windows NT Server 4.0 was introduced. Further, they will see a 40 percent increase in stability due in part to a more robust driver model and system recovery capabilities designed for maximum uptime. Following up on its commitment to Trustworthy Computing, Microsoft spent nearly $200 million training 13,000 Windows developers on new security-focused development techniques, implementing new engineering processes, and completing a line-by-line security review of Windows Server 2003 -- delivering a product that is more secure by design, by default and by deployment. Source: