Microsoft Touts Integration Of .Net Services With .Net Servers

During his keynote, Eric Rudder, Microsoft's senior vice president of the Developer and Platform Evangelism Group, unveiled the SQL Server 2000 Notification Services, the XML Web Services Toolkit for Exchange and SQL Server CE 2.0.

The notification service is in beta testing and will be available this fall, while the Exchange toolkit is available now, Rudder said.

SQL Server CE 2.0 database, which is now in beta testing, is a compact database for rapidly developing applications that extend enterprise data to mobile and wireless devices. It can be used with the SQL Server 2000 Notification Services to deploy an end-to-end .Net service to handheld devices, the Microsoft executive said. Rudder demonstrated the integration of .Net services with the .Net servers but declined to specify when the .Net MyServices platform will be officially launched.

The SQL Server 2000 Notification Services, for example, compiles data from multiple sources and then uses Microsoft's .Net Alerts service to deliver it. The SQL Server 2000 Notification Services "will let developers program alerts for end-user customers and [program how they are delivered," said Rudder, adding that users can generate and format notifications based on personal subscriptions. "Alerts can be sent via IM [Instant Messaging, SMS or SMTP."

Microsoft also unveiled its XML Web Services Toolkit for its Exchange servers, which enables developers to tap into the data and services of the collaboration server, such as calendaring and scheduling, contacts, workflow and messaging, to add to the context of a larger .Net solution. "Developers can use it to expose messaging services," said Rudder.

.Net Alerts and .Net Passport are currently the only .Net services available for use. The .Net services are among 15 services planned as part of Microsoft's .Net MyServices platform, which was originally targeted for launch in mid-2002. Sources say the beta of the full platform isn't expected until later this year.

Microsoft officials also demonstrated the integration of .Net services with Commerce Server 2002, which was officially launched at the show. As part of the demo, the software giant showed how developers and solution providers can use Visual Studio.Net, Commerce Server 2002 and .Net services to send alerts to a storefront.

With this feature, customers can be notified when a shipment is ready. Microsoft's MapPoint.Net, another .Net service launched at Tech Ed, can be employed to track the location of the shipment and destination points.

While Microsoft is clearly deploying .Net services to the marketplace in pieces, some observers wonder when the software giant will fulfill delivery of all the approximately 15 .Net services originally announced as part of .Net MyServices. With the availability of .Net Passport, and limited availability of .Net Alerts, developers and solution providers can begin selling some XML Web services to the market.

In an effort to show ISV support for Microsoft's evolving .Net platform, Rudder revealed the development of XML Web services for .Net by ISV partners including Avinon, Centra, Clarus, Comshare, Corechange, Epicor and Onyx. Sharing the stage with Rudder for part of the keynote was an executive from FrontRange Solutions, a CRM vendor that has written a CRM application for the Windows.Net server. Ironically, Microsoft itself plans to deliver a .Net-enabled CRM solution to the market later this year.

Meanwhile, the lack of big product news out of the show was reassuring to some attendees. "This shows a level of maturity in terms of large product releases," said Dana Gardner, research director at the Aberdeen Group. "In the past, Microsoft released products when it suited its business model; now it's when customers want them. If Web Services is to be taken seriously, they have to be well-cooked, robust and secure."

After all, Gardner said, there is an alternative in the Sun-led Java framework.