CHICAGO--Feb. 13, 2002-- Xerox is demonstrating the first printer administration software developed on the Microsoft .NET Framework today at the Microsoft Visual Studio .NET launch event. CentreWare Web 2.0 is the newest version of Xerox software used by system administrators to monitor network printers and report when problems occur. Its development on the Microsoft .NET Framework makes it even more powerful. CentreWare Web 2.0 can, for instance, continuously monitor all networked printers from all manufacturers, automatically call for help, and generate a service ticket - even before the system administrator is aware of trouble. "CentreWare Web 2.0, with its increased functionality and ability to integrate seamlessly with other applications, validates Microsoft's XML Web services vision. Working with Xerox, we quickly realized that `they get it' as the next generation of computing emerges,'' said Ilya Bukshteyn, group program manager for the Developer and Platform Evangelism Division at Microsoft Corp. Xerox's version 1.0 of CentreWare Web polls printers to detect faults and generates e-mail alerts when directed by a system administrator or service technician. The new version built on the Microsoft .NET Framework streamlines this process. Because CentreWare Web 2.0 takes advantage of Web services, the software can now seamlessly and pro-actively share printer information with other applications. A help desk application can access information from CentreWare Web to automatically generate a service ticket for a Xerox technician. This eliminates unnecessary processing by help desk personnel, improves service organization efficiency and responsiveness, and increases end-user satisfaction. "By leveraging Microsoft Visual Studio .NET and the .NET Framework, Xerox is well positioned to satisfy its goal of helpingcustomers easily integrate the latest technologies so they can do great work,'' said Ken Kaisen, vice president and general manager, Xerox Office Enterprise Services Business Team. "The latest version of CentreWare Web will enhance the benefits of printer administration and management for our customers.'' CentreWare Web 2.0 will be available from Xerox in March 2002.