Set to ship in March, Team Foundation Server works with the company's Visual Studio 2005 Team System platform to enable collaboration between multiple roles -- such as project managers, architects and developers -- in the development process.

"All of these people need to work together in a collaborative way," said S. Somasegar, corporate vice president of the Developer Division at Microsoft.

A release candidate, considered a prelude to the final, general release of the product, will be available on the Microsoft Developer Network either this Friday or Saturday, Somasegar said.

During his keynote, Somasegar also touted the next version of the Visual Studio developer platform, code-named "Orcas."

"I think about Orcas as being the best platform for [next-generation] Windows technology," such as the upcoming Windows Vista OS and the Office 12 office applications suite, Somasegar said.