Microsoft used the first day of its TechEd conference to announce a $1.7 billion investment in R&D for Windows Server products and a new version of its storage operating system. All told, Microsoft is throwing more than $2 billion at improving and promoting its server products. The $1.7 billion will go to bulking up the products themselves, and another $450 million is set aside for "community-based efforts", otherwise known as developer and engineer brainwashing sessions.
These moves come as Microsoft has put its whole line of enterprise server products under the Windows Server System brand. By giving server products a common name, Microsoft aims to convince users that various software products will work well together.