The Redmond, Washington-based software maker has been working on delivering the next major desktop and server versions of Windows--code-named Longhorn--by late 2004. Although the desktop version of Longhorn is still expected within this timeframe, a server version is not expected until 2005 or 2006, the company said.
Until Windows XP, the company had been releasing desktop and server versions of its business operating systems around the same time. With the latest change, Microsoft may have to grapple with customer confusion as it works to get its operating system release schedule back on track.
A Microsoft spokeswoman Tuesday confirmed that the next release of the company's server software "would follow the release of Windows .Net Server," yet essentially skip a generation to focus on the next version of Windows, code-named Blackcomb--initially planned as a successor to Longhorn.
Gartner analyst Michael Silver described the Longhorn-to-Blackcomb jump as "skipping a server release."
Because of the complexity of Windows 2000 Server's activity directory--software for managing users and computers on a network--many companies deploy software on desktops well ahead of servers, he said.
"Server products are so complex, (simultaneous installation) may not always work out the way people hope," Silver said. "Maybe Microsoft has come to that realisation, too."
Microsoft characterised the deadline change as something that customers would welcome.
"Another major Windows server release in the Longhorn timeframe does not meet the needs of most of our customers," the spokeswoman said. The delay "is a response to what our customers are asking for."
Analysts expect the company's upcoming server software, .Net Server, to take off slowly as many businesses have either recently moved to Windows 2000 or are in the process of doing so. A majority of customers, then, would begin deploying .Net Server in late 2004--around the same time as the planned release of the Longhorn desktop and server software versions.
