MaximumASP Partners With Dell and Professional Association of SQL Server (PASS) to Offer Free Beta Hosting Accounts for Microsoft SQL Server 2008

MaximumASP, a Microsoft Gold Certified Provider of web hosting services, today announced that it will be Microsoft Corp.’s first partner to provide free beta test accounts featuring Microsoft SQL Server 2008. This new technology release will be available in a hosted Beta environment in collaboration with Dell and the Professional Association for SQL Server (PASS).

The SQL Server 2008 BETA launch will debut at ASP.NET Connections www.devconnections.com November 5-8 in Las Vegas. Attendees from around the world will receive sign-up information at the MaximumASP Booth, the Microsoft Booth and at various locations throughout the show. Show attendees that sign up for the offer will be first to experience and test Microsoft’s newest, most intelligent data platform in a hosted environment free of charge.

Beta accounts for the public will be available in January 2008 via sign-ups on a micro site specifically developed by the joint sponsors supporting the offer.

“With SQL Server 2008 releasing in Q2 of calendar year 2008, it is important for us to have as many users test it as possible,” said Kim Saunders, senior director of SQL Server marketing at Microsoft. “MaximumASP’s online Beta hosting provides a great opportunity for customers to test SQL Server 2008 and learn how it can benefit them once implemented in a production environment.”

“We are very excited about SQL Server 2008 and delighted to offer an advanced preview of how it will help organizations gain business insight and reduce difficulties associated with managing complex systems,” said Sarah Barela, Manager of Database Services. “MaximumASP has a long history of giving customers a competitive edge by enabling them to get a jumpstart on new technologies.”

“Dell’s drive to simplify IT means collaborating with industry leaders like Microsoft to develop complete business-ready solutions that enable customers to focus less on maintaining infrastructure and more on what’s important to them – growing their business,” said Rick Becker, vice president of solutions, of Dell Product Group. “Partnering with MaximumASP to deliver these solutions means our customers can benefit from the enhanced features of SQL Server 2008 on award-winning Dell PowerEdge servers faster and easier than ever before.”

Rushabh Mehta, Director of Technology at (PASS) also added, “Our partnership with MaximumASP has been a very successful one because they understand our business needs and approach our hosting and IT requirements with that unique perspective. We are thrilled to partner with MaximumASP and Dell to offer the latest innovation from Microsoft; along with our own confidence in knowing that the back-end infrastructure provides maximum reliability and scalability.”

What’s new in SQL Server 2008?

SQL Server 2008 delivers on the Microsoft data platform vision by enabling organizations to run their most mission-critical applications while lowering the cost of managing the data infrastructure and delivering insights and information to all users.

Trusted–Enables organizations to run their most critical applications with very high levels of security, reliability, and scalability.

Productive–Enables organizations to reduce the time and cost required to develop and manage their data infrastructure.

Intelligent–Provides a comprehensive platform that delivers insights and information where your users want it.

To learn more about this exciting new technology and corresponding support visit: http://www.microsoft.com/sql/2008/default.mspx

About SQL PASS

PASS was founded by Microsoft and CA to provide users of SQL Server a community, peer networking and to build a body of expertise to help educate millions of SQL Server users around the world. PASS was the first independent, user-run, not-for-profit association dedicated to providing users around the world with the resources and knowledge to achieve unparalleled business results. PASS continues this long tradition of partnership today and enjoys Executive Level endorsement from both Microsoft & CA, who each contribute two senior Marketing Managers to the PASS Board of Directors. The PASS Board (3 Executive, 8 Directors & 4 Microsoft & CA representatives) also engage Microsoft product teams, developers, technical fellows, MVPs and others to help PASS develop programs (summit & online), educational content, speakers and to provide a conduit of user feedback to Microsoft on product/feature sets.

About MaximumASP

MaximumASP, based in Louisville, Kentucky, was founded in 2000 as an outsourcing firm for Microsoft Windows-based hosting services. The company currently hosts more than 44,000 domains for customers in over 60 countries. With a strong focus on hosting solutions that combine advanced monitoring and management tools, MaximumASP has become a top choice for Microsoft developers seeking a robust hosting platform for mission-critical web applications. For more information visit www.maximumasp.com

About Dell

Dell Inc. listens to customers and delivers innovative technology and services they trust and value. Uniquely enabled by its direct business model, Dell sells more systems globally than any computer company, placing it No. 34 on the Fortune 500. Dell’s climb to market leadership is the result of a persistent focus on delivering the best possible customer experience by directly selling standards-based computing products and services. Revenue for the last four quarters totaled $58.2 billion and the company employs approximately 90,400 team members around the globe.

Dell was founded in 1984 by Michael Dell, the longest-tenured executive to lead a company in the computer industry. The company is based on a simple concept: by selling computer systems directly to customers, Dell could best understand their needs and efficiently provide the most effective computing solutions to meet those needs. This direct business model eliminates retailers that add unnecessary time and cost, or can diminish Dell’s understanding of customer expectations. The direct model allows the company to build every system to order and offer customers powerful, richly configured systems at competitive prices. Dell also introduces the latest relevant technology much more quickly than companies with slow-moving, indirect distribution channels

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