Global Web Usage Share of Microsoft's Windows 2000 Grows Rapidly Since February Debut.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 14, 2000

Growth of Windows 2000 Comes at Expense of Other

Windows Operating Systems, WebSideStory's StatMarket Reports

WebSideStory, Inc. (www.websidestory.com), the leading provider of real-time Internet intelligence for e-business, today reported that the global Web usage share of Microsoft's Windows 2000 operating system has grown rapidly since its February debut, from 0.10% on Feb. 15, 2000, to 3.73% on Nov. 8, 2000. Windows 2000 is the newest business operating system from Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT). It appears to have grown at the expense of other Microsoft operating systems, according to WebSideStory's StatMarket (www.statmarket.com). Windows NT, Microsoft's long-running business OS, has dropped from 7.25% to 5.99% during the same period. Meanwhile, the combined usage share of Microsoft's two consumer operating systems, Windows 98 and Windows 95, has dropped from 85.5% to 82.79%, according to StatMarket. Usage share is the percentage of Internet users worldwide that are using a particular operating system.

Windows NT's usage share tends to drop by as much as 3 percentage points on the weekends -- equal to about 50% -- which is consistent with its use primarily by businesses. Windows 2000, on the other hand, dips only slightly on the weekends, indicating a broader customer demographic.

"These facts taken together strongly suggest that Windows 2000 is being used not only by businesses, but by consumers as well," said Geoff Johnston, vice president of product marketing for StatMarket. "Windows 2000 is the first OS we have tracked that does not spike or dip drastically on the weekends. It's clear that this OS has more of a universal appeal than other ...