Customers Including Monster.com, Nasdaq.com and Perth & Kinross Council in the UK Run New Windows Server 2003 on Dell Servers

Bracknell, UK, April 24, 2003 - DellTM, one of Microsoft's joint development partners, today announced it has deployed more than 9,000 PowerEdge(tm) servers running the new Windows Server 2003 operating system at customer sites around the world, including Monster.com, Nasdaq.com, Perth & Kinross Council in the UK, Rackspace Managed Hosting, and one of Dell's own online stores. Dell supports Windows Server 2003 and related service offerings across its entire line of PowerEdge servers and Dell | EMC and PowerVault(tm) storage systems.
Research firm Gartner, Inc. recommends that enterprises should plan to migrate from Windows NT to Windows Server 2003 no later than the fourth quarter of 2003, and should complete migration for all mission-critical servers by year-end 2004. To help facilitate this transition across Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Dell has partnered with selected services companies including Avanade and Getronics, to quickly and cost-effectively assess the IT environments of customers in the region. Together they will design and implement migration solutions to help customers move from Windows NT or proprietary UNIX platforms to Windows Server 2003 on standards-based Dell server and storage platforms. Dell also helps customers leverage the Windows .NET platform to develop applications that help increase worker productivity and collaboration. "We've worked closely with Microsoft to engineer Windows Server 2003 for the best possible performance, reliability and flexibility in order to help customers reduce their overall IT costs," said Martin Boyce, Enterprise General Manager, Dell UK. "In our labs, a Dell PowerEdge(tm) server running Windows Server 2003 performed 250 percent faster than an equally configured server running Windows NT. That's a powerful demonstration of how the platform can effectively and efficiently run business-critical applications, networks and Web services, from the workgroup to the data centre."
At the US launch event today, Microsoft and Intel outlined the benefits of Windows Server 2003 for next-generation platforms including 64-bit computing. Intel President and Chief Operating Officer Paul Otellini showcased a prototype Itanium-based Dell PowerEdge(tm) server in his keynote address. Dell plans to offer these servers later this year for applications such as high performance computing. eGovernment initiative pioneers Windows Server 2003 with Dell Perth and Kinross Council in Scotland, UK, has migrated 1,800 users to Windows Server 2003 on a Dell platform. The new infrastructure will form the basis for developing a fully transactional online service for local citizens.
"We were looking for a robust and reliable infrastructure to underpin our eGovernment strategy, running on the latest technology," said Alain Nairn, IT director, Perth and Kinross Council. "We choose to work with Dell because they demonstrated great ability in terms of the server and storage consolidation our mixed environment systems needed, whilst giving us the lowest ownership costs. Supported by Windows Server 2003, we look forward to providing a cost-effective and secure online service for the local population."
Dell Pilots Windows Server 2003
Dell's own chosen pilot, Dell.com in Canada, responds to approximately 30,000 customer inquiries each day. The reliability and security of Windows Server 2003, combined with Dell's own PowerEdge(tm) servers, allows Dell to respond quickly to customers and provide the highest-quality service.
In addition to supporting its customer-facing applications, Dell also uses XML Web services of the .NET framework to verify customer information, deliver customised pricing, and help consumers perform shopping comparisons. Dell plans to rollout Windows Server 2003 across its online stores in the U.S. and Latin America by the end of the year and in Europe and Asia by spring 2005. "Dell has always provided customers with excellent technology hardware at a price performance ratio that customers are consistently pleased with," said Mauro Meanti, General Manager for Server and Platform Business, Microsoft EMEA. "With the launch of Windows Server 2003, we have provided technologies which provide the foundations for greatly simplifying the management of data and storage infrastructure. These tools, combined with Dell hardware will deliver server and storage solution enabling powerful new customer scenarios."
For more information on Dell's support for Windows Server 2003, please visit http://www.dell.co.uk <http://www.dell.co.uk>

About Dell
Dell Computer Corporation (Nasdaq: DELL) is a premier provider of products and services required for customers worldwide to build their information-technology and Internet infrastructures. Company revenue for the past year totalled $35.4 billion. Dell, through its direct business model, designs, manufactures and customises products and services to customer requirements, and offers an extensive selection of software and peripherals. Information on Dell and its products can be obtained at http://www.dell.co.uk