Innovation was a key theme at this year's World Wide Partner Conference. On the technology front, we learned that Hyper-V is a key virtualization feature of the Windows Server 2008 operating system, and is in the RTM (released to manufacturing) stage of the release cycle. This updated beta version for Hyper-V is available for download. Also, Microsoft SQL Server 2008 is on schedule to RTM later this year!

To help you prepare and take advantage of these new technologies, the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 3.1 was released at WPC. Download the toolkit to start planning sales and deployments of the Windows Vista operating system, Hyper-V and SQL Server.

The new software-plus-services business model was a common theme throughout the keynote addresses, breakout sessions and at the Expo, along with levering technologies (such as SharePoint) to allow businesses to streamline their processes through improved collaboration.

Read all of the WPC announcements to catch up on news you may have missed.