Information Week: How Relevant Is Microsoft?

“…Microsoft needs to work fast because it’s getting
squeezed at both ends. Sun Microsystems is solidifying its hold on
sales to enterprise customers and big dot-coms that need to process
lots of transactions, while the rising popularity of the Linux
operating system at the low end of the server market is a
nettlesome development for the folks in Redmond, Wash. ‘The
biggest challenge for us is to keep moving full speed ahead,’
developing new technology that combines the work being done in
Microsoft’s labs with ‘course corrections’ from customers, Gates
says.”

“…Charlie Wuischpard, managing director of E-services provider
Perficient Inc.’s IBM practice, says the quick development time and
low deployment cost of Windows are outweighed by Java applications’
ability to run on multiple systems, including Solaris, AIX, and
Linux. ‘Not that Microsoft hasn’t been extremely pervasive, but it
hasn’t been a player in the scenarios we’re building. It’s been
about building on Java, Sun, and Oracle,’ he says. ‘It sounds like
heresy, but you’re going to see Microsoft get more marginalized on
the Internet.'”

“As always, there’s a sharp divergence of opinion when it comes
to Microsoft. Dedicated Windows shops say the company and its
products are indispensable, while companies with a Unix bias see
Microsoft on the fringes of their enterprises. ‘The mind-set of an
organization that has a lot of heterogeneity in its environment is
that they don’t want to choose a Windows software architecture for
development,’ says Mike Gilpin, a VP at Giga Information
Group.”

Complete
Story