1. What is being announced?

• Microsoft has signed an agreement to acquire all the outstanding shares and assets of DATAllegro.

2. When will the transaction be complete?

• We are unable to say for sure, but we expect it to be completed in late August, 2008.

3. When do you expect the new product to be available?

• We will be making more announcements regarding the product roadmap within the next 90 days.

4. What does this mean for DATAllegro’s products and service offerings?
     What will happen to them?

• After the acquisition closes, DATAllegro will continue to develop their technology, which will be incorporated into the SQL Server product line. DATAllegro’s current products will not be sold by Microsoft to new customers until they are fully integrated with SQL Server. However, they will be available through existing channels

5. How much will the SQL Server MPP version cost?

• Pricing is not yet determined, but both DATAllegro and Microsoft are committed to keeping their prices low in order to make the product available to the broadest range of companies possible.

6. What does this mean for the existing services and support agreements that we
     have with DATAllegro?

• We will continue to support all existing DATAllegro customers and plan to upgrade them to the next release that will be integrated with the SQL Server product line.

7. What will happen to DATAllegro’s offices and team?

• The majority of DATAllegro’s staff, including their executive team, will be retained and continue to work out of their current offices – primarily their Aliso Viejo, California headquarters. We will also retain their offices in Europe.

8. Why is the acquisition good for DATAllegro and Customers?

• Customers will benefit from Microsoft’s financial stability and long-term commitment and investment in data warehousing technologies.
  
• Customers will benefit through continued innovation, product integration & lower total cost of ownership as a result of the DATAllegro product shipping as part of SQL Server.
  
• Microsoft’s global reach through its sales and partner channels will also enable the DATAllegro technologies to be sold to many more customers than is possible today creating a more stable, enterprise-tested product.

9. How will the acquisition affect DATAllegro partners?

• As part of the business integration, Microsoft and DATAllegro leaders will review the relationship with all the key partners. We will keep you fully informed once a decision is made.

10. Why is this deal good for Microsoft?

• This acquisition extends Microsoft’s leadership in data warehousing. DATAllegro provides Microsoft a great opportunity to accelerate its data warehouse roadmap and leapfrog key competitors.
  
• With this acquisition SQL Server will span data warehouses of all sizes from small to very large. Microsoft has made significant investments into data warehouse scalability in SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2008. The acquisition of DATAllegro extends that and allows SQL Server data warehouses to grow from less than 50 GB to hundreds of terabytes.
  
• The acquisition reinforces Microsoft’s comprehensive and integrated BI: this enables everyone to do Business Intelligence effectively in companies of any size using SQL Server.

11. What happens if the transaction doesn’t close?

• In the unlikely event that the acquisition does not move forward as planned, DATAllegro would continue as an independent company.

12. How can we get more information?

• To be added to the database and receive updates on product development, click here.

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