* Bill Gates spreads the SOA word in his latest memo
Editor’s note: Starting Dec. 7, Network World’s Windows Networking Tips will be renamed Windows Networking Strategies and will be mailed once a week on Wednesdays. Dave Kearns will continue to bring you his take on the goings on in Redmond and analyze how Microsoft’s latest moves will affect your networking infrastructure. We hope you enjoy the new format.
By now, I’m sure you’ve read all about the latest memo from Chairman Bill. (If not, you can read the news story “Gates memo puts services at the heart of Microsoft” or read the memo itself) Once again, the mainstream media, at least, appear to think that technology isn’t real until Bill Gates says it is.
This latest pronouncement from the oracle of Redmond (actually, he most likely rather be called the “soothsayer” of Redmond) is that Internet-based services are the new “coming thing.” Of course, Bill usually proclaims something as the new “coming thing” long after the rest of us in the technology community have said that it’s so. Gates says in the memo: “The broad and rich foundation of the Internet will unleash a ‘services wave’ of applications and experiences available instantly over the Internet to millions of users.” This comes about three years after the rest of us began talking about service-oriented architecture (SOA) and the advent of service-based “stuff” on the Internet.
The general press is likening this memo to the famous one Bill authored in 1995 “discovering” the Internet, and the 2002 memo where Bill told us all that trustworthy computing was going to become important.
At least in this latest instance, most pundits are realizing that it’s the actions of Google (and, to a lesser extent, Yahoo) coupled with the surprising success of Salesforce.com that are driving Gates to attempt to once again re-invent Microsoft.
It’s interesting that the memo is dated Oct. 30, just two days before Gates (and CTO Ray Ozzie) unveiled their plans for Windows Live and Office Live. Some might say cause and effect, but I think it’s more a case of self-justification – the memo was constructed and dated to reinforce the announcement’s message.
Still, you wonder how much of the “Google Phenomenon” Gates has absorbed. The memo states: “Advertising has emerged as a powerful new means by which to directly and indirectly fund the creation and delivery of software and services…” But advertising has been around on the Internet since before the 1995 memo. And most of it – banners, pop-ups, Flash movies, etc. – is at best tolerated and more often vilified. The Google twist is that targeted advertising – advertising based on what you are looking for or looking at – is viable.
The “Office Live” announcement did talk about advertising-supported services. But I’ll say again what I said last week – how can Microsoft (or anyone) hope to tie effective, targeted advertising to an office productivity service?
