Microsoft and NCR Announce Strategic Partnership for Enterprise Data Warehousing and Electronic Commerce

Microsoft and NCR Corp. have announced a comprehensive partnership to deliver integrated data warehousing, electronic commerce, and high-availability technologies to businesses worldwide. The partnership aims to enable companies to improve customer relationships through targeted products and services, leveraging NCR's expertise in retail, financial, and communications industries and Microsoft's strengths in data marts and enterprise electronic commerce applications.

Key Takeaways:

• The partnership will focus on delivering scalable and available data warehousing solutions, as well as enterprise solutions that leverage and extend the central data warehouse.
• NCR and Microsoft will develop solutions in areas including distributed data marts, Internet commerce, customer relationship management, and highly available applications.
• The companies will provide details on the next phase of the initiative later this year.
• NCR will train and certify an additional 1,000 consultants as Microsoft Certified Systems Engineers (MCSEs).
• The partnership will leverage NCR's expertise in the retail, financial, and communications industries to co-develop industry electronic commerce solutions and vertical applications.
• The companies will collaborate on industry initiatives, such as Value Chain and ActiveStore retail technology architecture, to deliver integrated, standardized electronic commerce platforms and solutions.
• Key objectives include achieving tight interoperability between Microsoft SQL Server and NCR Teradata, accelerating the port of Teradata to Windows NT Server, and tightly integrating Microsoft and NCR technologies for highly scalable and available Windows NT Server-based environments.
• The partnership will surround large Teradata data warehouses with enterprise-class solutions that take advantage of the Microsoft BackOffice family of products and NCR's high-availability computing capabilities.

Statistics:

• 1,000 additional consultants will be trained and certified as Microsoft Certified Systems Engineers (MCSEs) by NCR.
• 10 new client centers worldwide will be opened to showcase customer applications.
• 10 new client centers will assist in showcasing customer applications leveraging the NCR and Microsoft partnership.
• TeraData on Windows NT Server is planned for availability in mid-1998.
• The joint NCR and Microsoft investments will focus on integration of strategic Microsoft products, including Windows NT 5.0, Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Exchange Server, and Site Server.

Sources:

• Microsoft and NCR Corp. announcement
• Comments from Lars Nyberg, chairman and CEO of NCR, and Bill Gates, Microsoft Chairman
• Unreferenced