The sheer scope of the .NET and HailStorm initiatives is exactly what you'd expect from Microsoft.When it gets pushed into a corner it comes out fighting, and its competitors really need to be sure o
The sheer scope of the .NET and HailStorm initiatives is exactly what you'd expect from Microsoft.When it gets pushed into a corner it comes out fighting, and its competitors really need to be sure of their ground.The breadth and depth of the vision is compelling, and it shows most clearly that Microsoft isn't going to get bogged down into a Java versus C# argument - that's an issue for developers, not for end users or implementers.
For those people who've invested a great deal of time and effort on Java-based solutions, it will continue to be business as usual.They have a stunningly good development platform that's mature and rich in its capabilities.There would be no business benefit to be gained from uprooting a large Java development and trying to move it into the .NET world, despite what Microsoft might claim. Given that the world is clearly moving to an open standards-based interface technology based on XML, it won't matter that some systems are written and hosted in Java, and others in VB in .NET.
In fact, the core developers at RemoteApps told me that they welcomed the .NET initiative and would ensure that all their capabilities could be surfaced and used in the .NET framework. As a result of this, the decision by Microsoft to
target the end user and wider Internet space looks like an extremely wise one.The boldness of its plan can't be overemphasised, and there's no doubt in my mind that it will change the world of the Internet forever.That's even if it's a
bit of a failure, because it will have raised people's expectations and desires, and once you tell people it's possible for them to live in a connected, managed space they'll assume it's going to work.
Microsoft doesn't have this world to itself, though. As you might imagine, its rivals have announced bold solutions too. Sun has its ONE (Open Network Environment) platform for which it's making very bold claims, as you'd expect. At the core of Sun ONE are the WebTop capabilities, which give the means for developers to push their content and capability onto a rich and fully integrated user desktop experience. It's all heavily based around the Java language, with fundamentals on XML too. It will take the iPlanet capabilities and build a set of services akin to the HailStorm facilities.
So who'll win overall? The answer to that is actually very simple.You and I.The battle royal that's raging between the major vendors might seem to be a 'winner takes all', but I can't see this being the case. Given the complete reliance by
all parties on open standards like SOAP and XML, there should be no reason why we, the users, can't take a 'best of breed' approach.
Everyone I've spoken to in the Java and .NET development community agrees that they expect the future world to encompass both technologies. No-one seriously believes the world will be Java only, or .NET only. All are assuming that
they'll have to work with both, even if their feet are rooted more in one camp than the other.
The losers in this will be those people who think connectivity is a marginal thing and that information doesn't need to be shared. If your business process is reliant on a number of third-party,Web-based service companies, then you
need to ensure that the necessary reliability is in place. It's going to be hard to build a workable trust model for Internet services until there are meaningful expectations for service availability and adequate recompense for downtime. It might not matter too much if your calendar isn't available for 15 minutes on one Wednesday evening. However, it will matter a lot if your company uses a third-party facility as a key component of its stock control system, and that third party goes 'off air' for five hours during the working day. It's this that will blunt the uptake of such distributed solutions until a workable and trustable infrastructure has been proven.
There is one final set of concerns. If you move aspects of your 'digital personality' out onto the Internet, to be managed by third-party companies, then you ultimately run the risk of becoming a 'non-person' if data gets corrupted or deleted by accident. Having access to that information for inspection, modification, repair or updating is going to be a vital requirement in the longer term. And there is no doubt the issue of digital privacy and security will turn the Internet on its head.This topic is the core of the third and final piece in this series, due next month.