As GPM of Commerce Server, a big part of my role is figuring out which platforms we support and why. Platform support is certainly one of the hardest decisions for CS2006. Right now we are contemplating as a team what the impact would be of requiring Windows 2003 or later for CS2006.

Although there are a lot of Windows 2000 deployments out there, there are a lot of reasons why Windows 2003-only support is a good thing. First is supportability – Windows 2003 is getting the bulk of attention for new enhancements. Second is customer experience – we can greatly simplify things like Setup, Security Configuration, Product Documentation, etc. by only supporting Windows 2003 – which will make the product just that much easier to use and manage.

But in the end – its really the customer’s opinion that counts. What do you think? Please send us feedback on this issue – we’d like to know the details of why Windows 2000 support would be important or critical to your business. I look forward to the feedback!