In the final part of three, Jon Honeyball looks at the connectivity and security solutions of .NET.
Were now into the final part of my three-part exposition on the future of the Microsoft
In the final part of three, Jon Honeyball looks at the connectivity and security solutions of .NET.
Were now into the final part of my three-part exposition on the future of the Microsoft-hosted development process. In part one, I looked at how Microsoft built its development platform through the 1990s, how it had reacted to the Web world, and how it decided to take a great leap forward in the development space. I also covered what happened in the Java world, in the battle of giants between Microsoft and Sun, and concluded that both approaches have considerable merit.
In part two, I examined the two development worlds in detail and showed how the Java world has a considerable lead on the Microsoft .NET platform, but that two major factors ensure that Microsoft isnt ruled out of court. One is its size, weight and sheer energy when it comes to writing world-class software. The other is simply that Java isnt the solution to all known problems and that there are other ways of moving forward, especially when you consider the large installed base of Visual Basic and VBA developers out there. In addition, the big open-interfaces push by Microsoft means that its determined to lead from the front when it comes to being able to talk to other platforms and has focused huge effort on SOAP, XML and other open standard non-proprietary interfaces to make this happen. In short, Microsoft might be in second position, but dont underestimate its speed or the size of its fuel tank in this particular race.
In this, the final part, I want to touch on a number of areas that are rarely given any real coverage but I believe will almost be more important once history has the opportunity to look back on this era and cast judgement. None of this is particularly Microsoft focused; the issues are ones which all of us in the corporate and home worlds should be considering most carefully.