.Net Acceleration
In mid-October, the vendor plans a major partner airlift for four Windows.Net Server 2003 editions and a new generation of .Net tools, servers, services and distributed applications slated to ship in the first half of 2003. Windows.Net Server 2003 is expected to be released to manufacturing next quarter.
The strategy was outlined by Microsoft executives, including Senior Vice President Brian Valentine, who addressed security concerns, at the Windows Developer's Conference in Seattle last week. It was also detailed during a reseller executive summit last month, where Microsoft also disclosed plans to host a partner marketing event on Oct. 22 and 23 and invest $45 million for marketing Windows.Net and a related series of Go To Market campaigns. One solution provider at the summit said Microsoft hinted at a January ship date for Windows.Net server.
The 2003 lineup for .Net goes far beyond servers. Also on deck are a revised, version 2.0 of the software developer's kit for .Net MyServices; an upgrade of Visual Studio.Net optimized for Windows.Net; and .Net versions of SharePoint, CRM Server and Office, according to sources. The next SharePoint portal server, for example, features .Net support, advanced team collaboration and document management capabilities. It is expected to be tightly integrated with Microsoft's forthcoming Office.Net and Windows.Net Server.
Microsoft also is planning a new "server manager" project that unifies its management servers for distributed Web services. The company hopes the product push will elevate its stature with corporate users in the Web services arena, observers said. "Microsoft is quite worried about the fact that it gets no respect when it comes to Web service platforms," said Paul DeGroot, principal analyst at newsletter Directions on Microsoft.
New CRM and ERP applications due later this year are just the beginning of Microsoft's high-stakes push to transform business apps into Web services, channel sources said. The broad .Net platform will also encompass a new category of distributed business applications, including a new distributed order management solution, according to a Microsoft document.
The distributed order management application "sounds like it would tie right into Jupiter," said one solution provider who requested anonymity. Jupiter is the code name for a proposed bundle due next year that is slated to include BizTalk Server, Content Management Server, Commerce Server, SharePoint Portal Server and Host Integration Server.
"Order management and transactions in Jupiter become Web services," the solution provider said. "This is the complete componentization of e-business [capabilities into Web services."
On the CRM front, in addition to the Microsoft CRM product, due later this year, Microsoft is building a professional services automation application as an extension of the Great Plains Project Accounting software. Another hot-button item for partners is the proposed Microsoft
Professional Services Solution, which would include MS-CRM, a customized version of Great Plains Financials and Project Server 2002, all "rolled together as a services-company-in-a-box," said one solution provider familiar with the plans.
As for XML Web services, the next version of .Net MyServices SDK is scheduled to ship in mid-2003 and will support federation, multiple operators and corporate in-house use, Microsoft confirmed. The company would not discuss specifics but said it is working on both .Net MyServices and .Net building block services.
Microsoft is also developing .Net foundation services to complement its Passport identity service. According to another Microsoft document examined by CRN, these services are focused on directory and search, personalization, software delivery, calendaring, storage, and notification and messaging services.