Microsoft to pitch security as competitive advantage

Microsoft will pitch security as a "competitive advantage" at its worldwide partner conference in Toronto next week, but it may be a tough sell to attendees who are still waiting for the software maker to deliver on some of last year's security-related promises. Microsoft's second annual Worldwide Partner Conference is focused on helping its partners to sell more Microsoft products. Attendees at last year's event welcomed Microsoft chief executive officer Steve Ballmer addressed head-on some of the security challenges the software maker faces and outlined steps it said it would take to address them.

However, Microsoft has yet to deliver on most of the promises Ballmer made. For example, customers are still waiting for a single patching experience and an update to the Software Update Services (SUS) patch management tool, both of which Ballmer said would be out in the first half of 2004, and both of which have been delayed.

Additionally, Ballmer promoted the security enhancements in Service Pack 2 for Windows XP. That update was scheduled to be released in the first half of the year but has also been delayed and is now expected some time in the third quarter.