Windows Server: What's Next?

Microsoft is feting its 'best-selling version of Windows server ever.' So, what's Redmond going to do for an encore?

On April 24, Windows Server 2003 turned 1 year old. Microsoft officials say the product has sold like hotcakes. And last week's third-quarter financials, driven by strong Windows Server licensing sales, underscored that message.

Microsoft won't release specifics as to how many Windows Server 2003 licenses it has sold since the product launched, other than to say that Windows Server 2003 now constitutes 75 percent of its Windows server sales mix.

But Al Gillen, system software research director at IDC, said Server 2003 comprised 45 percent of the Windows licenses sold worldwide in the past year. (Windows Server 2000 and a few NT 4.0 licenses constituted the bulk of the rest of the Windows server shipments during the past year.)

"Windows Server [2003] continues to defy the laws of gravity," Gillen said. "The operating system saw good uptake, and why not? It's a second-generation product that is better, faster and more reliable."

News source: Microsoft-watch.com