(October 15, 2002) - Microsoft Corp. has launched Content Management Server (CMS) 2002, part of the Microsoft .NET Enterprise Server family. Microsoft has invested in Content Management Server to provide deeper integration with Microsoft .NET and support for industry standards. Integration with the .NET Framework and Visual Studio .NET provide developers with an environment to build and assemble content management-enabled Web applications and content-driven Web services. Integration with Microsoft Office improves productivity by allowing content creation and direct Web publishing from Microsoft Word.

This year, Microsoft has shipped BizTalk Server 2002 and Commerce Server 2002, and now with the release of Content Management Server 2002, it is rounding out its eBusiness server offerings that are deeply integrated with .NET. Extended .NET integration in Content Management Server 2002 provides prebuilt and extensible content management server controls and full support for source code management.

"JetBlue is using Content Management Server 2002 to run blueNEWS, an information portal where employees learn about corporate news, policies, and changes," said Jeff Cohen, chief information officer for JetBlue Airways. "CMS 2002 is squarely meeting our content management needs." Universal Forest Products and the Graduate Management Admission Council have also already utilized CMS 2002 in their Web sites.

With its new native support for managing standards-based XML content and exposing content and functionality as XML Web services, Content Management Server 2002 integrates into heterogeneous environments and connects with customers' existing business systems.

Enhanced functionality in CMS 2002 will offer a comprehensive solution for managing content-rich Web sites that is well integrated with Microsoft technologies and supports industry standards to help customers connect to existing systems.

CMS 2002 works with Microsoft Application Center to allow for improved deployment of Content Management Server Web sites throughout the development cycle, through the firewall and across server farms, resulting in faster deployment time.

Content Management Server 2002 will retail for $42,000 per and will be generally available by the end of the year. More information can be found at www.microsoft.com/cmserver/.