Microsoft In Deal With Softricity To Extend Enterprise Apps As XML Web Services

Microsoft

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Redmond, Wash.-based software company said it will promote Softricity's SoftGrid platform, which enables corporate enterprises to quickly deploy existing Windows applications as XML Web services.

As part of the agreement, Microsoft and Boston-based Softricity will coordinate development, sales and marketing efforts to create .Net business solutions for enterprise customers. The SoftGrid platform employs a thin-client-like technology that allows portions of the application code to be delivered over the network to Windows PCs, or thin clients using terminal services. The technology's SystemGuard barrier enables the application to be executed without without the full software package being installed, according to the company.

The SoftGrid is deemed useful for users and administrators of Windows-based terminal server farms or clustered servers.

Microsoft will provide application discovery, provisioning and authentication services through .Net services such as Microsoft Passport. Another .Net service that is currently deployed, .Net Alerts, will allow corporate IT staff to send messages to clients when one of the SoftGrid application services, or XML Web services, has been added, updated or terminated, Microsoft said.

In addition, the integration of SoftGrid with Microsoft's SQL Server and BizTalk will allow administrators to get realtime information about application performance and usage, Microsoft said.

This latest agreement is one of many partnerships Microsoft has established in an effort to promote its vision of .Net, in which software is transformed into XML Web services deployed over the Internet.