Partner Press Release
Microsoft BizTalk Server 2000 to Support RosettaNet XML Standard

ASUS Speeds Deployment of Supply Chain Integration Through BizTalk Server Accelerator for RosettaNet

For Release April 18, 2001

ANAHEIM --

Today at the RosettaNet Partner Conference in Anaheim, Calif., Microsoft Corp., one of the founding members of the RosettaNet consortium, announced the Microsoft ® BizTalk ® Server Accelerator for RosettaNet. The second accelerator for BizTalk Server 2000 that Microsoft has announced in the past two months, it will provide the software adapters and server platform needed to rapidly implement RosettaNet solutions that will integrate applications and supply chain partners and enable the orchestration of complex, collaborative business processes.

"Alleviating the integration problems of the high-tech industry's value chain is our primary objective, and the BizTalk Server Accelerator for RosettaNet is a welcome solution in helping bring that vision to fruition," said Jennifer Hamilton, CEO of RosettaNet. "This solution demonstrates Microsoft's continued leadership role in helping develop and drive XML-based standards such as RosettaNet and implementing solutions that will empower businesses across industries."

ASUS Accelerates the Deployment of RosettaNet Solution
ASUS, the world's leading manufacturer of motherboards, revolutionized its supply chain and connected its suppliers using BizTalk Server 2000 and the BizTalk Server Accelerator for RosettaNet. "We chose BizTalk Server 2000 and the BizTalk Server Accelerator for RosettaNet because it provided us with the integrated and cost-effective business solution we needed to streamline our supply chain practice and collaborate with our partners and suppliers based on the RosettaNet standard," said Steven Pao, CIO of ASUS. "The BizTalk solution gives us the agility to implement RosettaNet easier and faster, which is critical for us to maintain our leadership position in the industry."

"The design goal behind BizTalk Server 2000 was to develop a comprehensive XML-based solution that would make it fundamentally easier to integrate applications, trading partners and business processes over the Internet," said Dave Wascha, product manager for BizTalk Server 2000 at Microsoft. "Our customers have told us that we have absolutely hit and exceeded those goals with the release of BizTalk Server 2000, and with the growing stable of BizTalk solutions, such as the RosettaNet accelerator, Microsoft will only make it easier for our customers to make their integration hurdles feel more like speed bumps."

BizTalk Server Accelerator for RosettaNet
The BizTalk Server Accelerator for RosettaNet is a set of tools and technical resources that augments the functionality of BizTalk Server 2000 to significantly reduce the amount of time and resources required to build, deploy and manage RosettaNet solutions.

The BizTalk Server Accelerator for RosettaNet includes the following:

• RosettaNet Implementation Framework (RNIF) 1.1 parser for BizTalk Server 2000.
• Prebuilt Partner Interface Processes ® (PIP ® ).
• PIP tools.
• PIP unit tester.
• Comprehensive documentation and samples.
• This allows BizTalk Server 2000 to "speak" RosettaNet. A collection of the most commonly used Partner Interface Processes prebuilt for BizTalk Server 2000 allows developers and IT professionals to quickly integrate their applications and trading partners into a RosettaNet solution. A template-based resource for building any of the over 80 PIPs allows developers and IT professionals to very easily build any of the PIPs they need for their RosettaNet solution. This allows developers and IT professionals to easily test their RosettaNet implementations. These shorten the learning curve for developers and IT professionals building RosettaNet solutions.

Pricing and Availability
The BizTalk Server Accelerator for RosettaNet will be available this summer. Pricing and licensing details have not yet been released. More information on BizTalk Server 2000 and the additional BizTalk Server accelerators can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/biztalk/.

About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software - any time, any place and on any device.