Microsoft boosting online software

Microsoft Corp. is strengthening its early-stage push to fend off competition by offering more Internet-based software, a change from its traditional method of selling programs that run on individual desktops or corporate servers.

With Internet-savvy rivals threatening Microsoft's usual sales model, Microsoft started offering its Exchange e-mail server software and other programs to "beta" testers in March. Under the new setup, companies including Eddie Bauer Holdings Inc. started to let some of their business software be run remotely in Microsoft's data centers, rather than buying, installing and managing it themselves.