Microsoft in the .NET
September 2000
Microsoft makes big claims for its next generation Internet
services
Microsoft is the company that was famously turned
on a dime in the mid 1990s by Bill Gates. Bullishly predicting,
in the wake of the success of Windows 95, that this Internet fad
would be nothing without Microsoft Network Services (MSN), Gates
made the Internet the centre of everything when the public stayed
away from MSN in droves. We ain't seen nothin' yet, however, as
Microsoft has now bet its future on its planned .NET service.
The vision is simple - though its application is
radically different to anything we're used to. Companies will no
longer have their own IT departments, but move to Microsoft or other
application service provider (ASP) with the launch of a new generation
of Internet software, Microsoft .NET. Using XML as its lingua franca,
data processing will move online as users simply download those
applications they need when they need them.
According to Microsoft CEO and President, Steve
Ballmer, the aim is to provide inexpensive applications across the
Net and make it easier for developers to create those applications:
'Microsoft .NET means that knowledge workers will be able to create,
browse, edit and share information using one simple interface, and
they'll also have powerful information-management tools at their
disposal - no matter where they are or what device they're using.'
What this means is that the old desktop-based version of computing
- and the one dominated by Microsoft - will diminish in importance
and even eventually disappear.
One example where the .NET services could be most
important is with Microsoft Office. The company's flagship product
containing Word, Excel, Access and PowerPoint could be its flagship
ASP along with Exchange, Windows 2000 and other programs. Users
will be able to use services on a pro rata basis, with the aim of
keeping up with bug fixes and upgrades more easily and having better
technical support.
Unfortunately, one area of contention in areas
outside the US is likely to be price. Microsoft plans to charge
$36.95 for Office Premium, but the price in the UK is likely to
match the dollar price in pounds, around £37 per month. With
others such as Lotus unveiling ASP plans ($2.99 for 48 hours at
Playnow.com), Microsoft may
simply be charging too much to tempt users across to its new model.
In addition, while Ballmer claims that Microsoft has the people
and the experience 'to make this work', the company will be competing
more with an open source development community backed increasingly
by large companies such as IBM and even Intel. Microsoft needs to
break open the desktop to survive online, but it may be precisely
what the competition needs.
For more information on .NET, see www.microsoft.com/net/default.asp.
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