Tacit works with Microsoft to provide windows-based solution that extends datacenter IT services.

Tacit Networks, a leader in enterprise-wide remote office IT solutions, has announced that it has worked with Microsoft Corporation to provide an end-to-end Microsoft Windows-based solution that extends datacenter IT services out to the branch office, driving enterprise-wide IT optimization and cost efficiencies. By combining Tacit Networks' market-leading Windows-based Wide Area File Services (WAFS) solution with Microsoft's Storage Technologies in Windows Server 2003 and Windows Storage Server 2003, enterprises can give branch offices worldwide access to centrally managed file, print, network and management services while consolidating server and storage resources into the datacenter.

Building upon the huge global base of Microsoft Windows Server 2003 infrastructure installations, Tacit Networks leverages the Windows Server platform to ensure native interoperability, manageability, and security across network locations. Tacit Networks' technology extends the Windows Server platform, by providing value-added IT functions for branch office users through secure, high-speed access to a consolidated pool of storage and server resources in the datacenter. Tacit Networks' enterprise customers worldwide, including dozens in the Fortune 500 and Global 2000, have chosen this solution for branch office services because of the strength of the technology and the rapid ROI that the solution provides.

"Tacit Networks has worked with Microsoft Corporation to bring additional value to the Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2003 offering by providing customers with innovative technology for WAN file serving, file level caching and centralized file consistency capabilities for remote branch office deployments," said Rahul Auradkar, Director in the Windows Server Division at Microsoft Corporation. "Tacit Networks' Wide Area File Services (WAFS) solution based on the Microsoft Windows platform enables these critical capabilities for branch office deployments for customers."

"As enterprises grapple with the issues presented by branch office IT requirements, the combination of these technologies is a natural and powerful fit," said Greg Grodhaus, Chairman and CEO of Tacit Networks. "Microsoft Windows Server 2003 is a platform of primary choice for companies throughout the world, and Tacit Networks leverages this platform to extend datacenter-class IT services to the branch office without requiring massive IT infrastructure. We believe this solution will not only benefit customers but will also raise the bar for the types of branch office IT and storage and server solutions that companies will soon come to expect from technology providers."

According to industry analyst firm Nemertes Group, up to 87% of corporate employees work in locations remote from the headquarters location which normally houses the datacenter. In addition, analyst firm the Enterprise Strategy Group reports that up to 75% of a corporation's information may reside outside of the datacenter, where it is at risk of loss and security breach. Through Tacit Networks Microsoft Windows based solutions, storage and server assets can now be consolidated into the enterprise datacenter where they can be managed by best practices and core IT staff, while offering remote users the same level of access, performance and security as if they were in the same location as the data.