By Barb Cole
Network World, 12/26/94

It first glance, Bill Gates is an odd candidate for a roster of the network industry's most powerful people. After all, Microsoft Corp. hasn't lived up to its expectations - or anyone else's - in the net arena. While Gates and company are the undisputed kings of the desktop, success at the enterprise level still beckons from over the horizon. But there's more to the picture than the demise of LAN Manager or Windows NT's struggle for market acceptance. Microsoft has delivered more of Windows NT's promise in version 3.5 and has put together a neat package of client/server components in the aggressively priced BackOffice bundle. It also has powerful new products on tap - from Windows 95 to SQL Server 95 to the Exchange message server - that could rewrite the network script. And Microsoft plans a push into on-line services with The Microsoft Network, which will get a boost from the access tools built into Windows 95. But even if the new products and services don't take off, Gates has assured himself a major role in the nets of tomorrow by dint of the "standards" Microsoft sets for database access, object computing and messaging, among other things. The firm has used its influence to ensure wide acceptance of these specs, which - like it or not - will define how you network your Windows desktops. "Microsoft is bubbling up from the desktop into networking. It has worked its way into most companies through the back door and is using the `surround' strategy to grab the networking business," says Bob Johnson, an analyst at Dataquest, Inc. in Framingham, Mass. Among its offerings are Open Database Connectivity, a protocol that has become the de facto standard for heterogeneous database access; the Messaging Application Programming Interface (MAPI); WinSock, the protocol that defines how Windows applications communicate via the Internet; and OLE, a mechanism for linking applications that is supported in hundreds of non-Microsoft applications. Microsoft isn't stopping there. The company is working with Intel to develop specifications for video and telephony integration and with Texas Instruments to build an object repository that will let users share objects among front-end development tools. PUSHING INTO THE BACKOFFICE Microsoft also is attempting to gain market share in the rapidly expanding server marketplace by exploiting NetWare's weaknesses, says Joe Mohen, chief technical officer at Proginet, a maker of file management software in Uniondale, N.Y. Windows NT is being pushed hard as an application server, and it has a real edge over rivals, thanks to the widespread adoption of Microsoft specifications. Also, Novell has struggled in positioning the UnixWare/NetWare package of application and file and print servers, and has garnered criticism from some analysts and users for pushing products at cross-purposes. By the time Novell melds NetWare and UnixWare in 1996 - its SuperNOS effort - Windows NT could gain a stronghold in the application server market, analysts say. "It's becoming increasingly important to integrate applications with operating systems, and Microsoft seems able to do that. The NetWare/UnixWare vs. Windows NT battle will largely depend on what Novell can do with its groupware offerings," according to Mohen. Besides selling loads of desktop applications and controlling Windows-based standards, Gates plans to build more functionality into Windows NT and BackOffice, which includes Windows NT Server, SQL Server, SNA Server 2.1 and Systems Management Server, as well as Microsoft Mail (which will later be replaced by Exchange Server). What's more, Gates plans to make Windows 95 a more obedient net client than Windows for Workgroups or Windows 3.1. Gates' plan is not bounded by corporate walls, either. He's leading his firm into electronic commerce with the recent acquisition of financial software provider Intuit and deals with banks and credit card companies. Those assets could be particularly valuable with the launch of The Microsoft Network. Industry analysts and users say Microsoft's attempt to extend its reach beyond the desktop will pay off, although the company will have to work hard to convince corporate software buyers that it can deliver on service and support. "When you're buying software for the client/server environment, you're looking for two things - who owns the standards and how reliable the stuff is," Carleton says. @

Feedback

Tell us your thoughts on this article or the issues raised in it. We'll cc: the author and editors on all comments.

Comments:

Name:
E-mail address:

Can we post your comments in an online forum on the topic?
Yes No

What did you think of this article?
Very useful Somewhat useful Not at all useful

Would you want to see:
More articles on this topic
Fewer articles on this topic

Thank you! When you click Submit, you'll be taken back to this article.