Stampede 2002 Product News

In addition to announcing significant branding and pricing changes at the Stampede 2002 conference for Microsoft Business Solutions (MBS) resellers, Microsoft also highlighted some new and forthcoming MBS products and technologies.

MBS Business Network

First demonstrated at a conference for MBS customers in Mar. 2002, the MBS Business Network is a forthcoming Microsoft-hosted service that will make it easier for small and mid-size businesses to create, join, and conduct business over business-to-business (B2B) networks. The goal is to enable these businesses to exchange the necessary documents (e.g., purchase orders, invoices) and data for B2B in standard formats understood by all parties.

Tight integration with MBS applications will enable participants to import data (e.g., SKUs for specific products) automatically from their MBS back end into the relevant forms. The Business Network will also be available to businesses that have Office but do not have any MBS applications, although these businesses will have to fill the forms in manually.