"Microsoft in the enterprise" has, for many enterprise IT strategists, been considered an oxymoron since Microsoft first set its sights on the data center market with the initial release of Windows NT in mid-1993. Confusion about the meaning and significance of Microsoft's .NET strategy, unveiled during mid-2000, created additional uncertainty about Microsoft's enterprise potential. This session includes an assessment of Microsoft's strategy and status as an enterprise superplatform contender, including projections of Microsoft's near-term trajectory as it finalizes key initiatives including new model-driven tools, Indigo, Avalon, and Windows Longhorn.

Microsoft is also warming up to the idea of OpenSource and has relaxed its licensing for some products to help developers build products and services with it's tools. This has led to new initiatives such as porting the python language to work with the .NET platform and the release of FlexWiki based on ASP.NET. The .NET strategy includes a whole suite of new technologies including XAML and WinFS which are at the core of the new Windows platform. Innovative features as native support for XML by SQL Server 2005 and metadata support in WinFS are also being added to existing products. All of these different products collectively make up the new Windows Server System.

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Peter O'Kelly is a Senior Analyst at Burton group. He emphases Microsoft .NET application architecture and strategy, XML and document/database management system (DBMS) convergence and communication/collaboration applications and tools. He has a background of over 20 years of software career focused on application architectures, XML and database topics, and collaborative applications. He has served in software product management, business development, and strategy roles with companies including IBM/Lotus, Groove, and Macromedia. He is also an author of dozens of reports and articles on Microsoft platform and product strategy, XML standards, DBMS market dynamics, and other topics.

Peter O'Kelly created the first corporate-level logical data model for Procter & Gamble. He led Lotus Notes product management during the pivotal Notes R4 release. He established product management and competitive strategy for collaborative application pioneer Groove Networks and was Macromedia VP Strategy during the launch of its MX product line.

Resources:

• Peter O'Kelly's Blog
• Microsoft Windows Vista
• Building WinFS solutions

This presentation is one of a series from the Burton Group Catalyst Conference 2005 held in Orlando, Florida, July 19-21, 2005.

For Team ITC:

• Description editor: Vinayak Hegde
• Post-production audio engineer: Bruce Sharpe
• Series Producer: Cori Schlegel