Microsoft builds muscle

2005-11-07 09:27

Seattle - Microsoft Corp is releasing a new version of its popular software for helping companies house large amounts of data, one of the first in a series of product launches that the company is hoping will bolster its competitive edge.

The Redmond-based software giant is officially releasing a new version of SQL Server 2005 at an event on Monday in San Francisco. At the same time, it is also launching updates of BizTalk Server 2006, which pulls information from different applications together, and Visual Studio 2005, a product for developers.

The software releases will be followed by the release of Xbox 360, a new version of Microsoft's video game console. The company promises many more new releases through 2006, including a recently announced batch of internet-based offerings and new versions of its flagship Windows operating system and Office business software.

With the latest version of SQL, Microsoft is touting new functions for culling data from large amounts of information, called Business Intelligence. For example, Barnes & Noble Inc plans to use it to help stores better decide what books to stock, Microsoft said.

Microsoft is hoping to gain a competitive edge by offering those services as part of its core product, rather than requiring people to pay extra for such functions.

Although consumers may be more interested in the flashier Xbox later this month, the company's bottom line could benefit more from the server software launch. Microsoft will lose money every time it sells one of the consoles, while server software has consistently been a bright spot on the group's balance sheet.

For the quarter ended September 30, Microsoft said operating income in its server and tools division rose 28% to $896m from $699m a year earlier. The home and entertainment division, which includes Xbox, lost $141m during the same quarter, up from a $138m loss in the same period a year earlier.

Microsoft still makes most of its money from the lucrative Windows and Office franchises, but it increasingly needs to rely on other products as the market for those cash cows grows saturated.

- AP