Microsoft Lifts Veil On Jupiter Upgrade Plans

Jupiter, which will integrate technologies now found in BizTalk Server, Content Management Server and Commerce Server, is slated to ship in phases starting late next year. (See related story.)

When Jupiter was formally unveiled at the MEC 2002 conference in October, Microsoft executives would not comment on pricing except to say it would be an "easy upgrade" from the component server pieces.

Last week, Lead Product Manager Dave Wascha got a little more specific at Microsoft's IT Forum in Copenhagen, where he unveiled the aggressive upgrade plan. The freebie applies only to customers on Microsoft's Software Assurance plan, said a Microsoft spokeswoman.

One longtime Microsoft solution provider termed that upgrade path "extremely aggressive."

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The first Jupiter iteration, due in the second half of 2003, promises support for XML Web Services, workflow and BPEL (Business Process Execution Language). The second release, due in 2004, is slated to add site analytics, campaign management, catalog management, content management and personalization, Microsoft executives said in October.

BizTalk, the cornerstone of Microsoft's application integration strategy, has sold quite well, according to Microsoft partners. Content Management Server has had more limited success, mostly due to pricing issues, they said. The existing CMS 2000 software costs $42,000 per CPU, which many solution providers characterized as excessive.

The Jupiter offering is viewed by many as a response to IBM's aggressive WebSphere branding push. IBM is attacking e-business in the midmarket all the way up to the enterprise with WebSphere-labeled suites. IBM shipped the long-delayed WebSphere 5 Application Server this week. In the past month it launched WebSphere 5 Portal Server and is targeting small and midsize businesses with WebSphere Express.

As to the status of CMS 2002, the product beta was announced in July, and it was officially launched in October at MEC with promises to ship by year's end. A spokeswoman said it was released to manufacturing on Oct. 28 and costs about $40,000 per CPU.