Comment Articles

Is Microsoft ready for Web services?

Tony McCune for ZDNet.com ZDNet US

Published: 07 Feb 2003 10:17 GMT

Microsoft has traditionally dominated the small-business software market, where the company's platform remains a popular choice. However, as Web services emerge as a viable and industry-shifting technology, questions have emerged as to whether Microsoft has what it takes to gain real inroads with larger-sized companies. It has become increasingly evident that Microsoft is caught between a standard and an operating system, and that its continuing proprietary approach may not be viable in the Web services era.

When Microsoft began its domination of the PC desktop, it succeeded in part because the program suite was a logical extension for users accustomed to the Windows operating system. And when Microsoft gained share in the browser market, plenty of people cried foul but used the tool anyway. As a result, Microsoft was able to keep a foot firmly planted on the secure ground of operating system growth by leveraging its existing supply chain. However, this security blanket of past successes may be becoming the very thing that holds Microsoft back from becoming a major player in the business interoperability movement.

Consider the mid-market -- companies with between 100 and 1,000 employees -- a segment that both IBM and Microsoft are trying to win. Traditionally, the mid-market has been the last sector to make the plunge into technology migration. Unlike enterprise companies in the Fortune 1000, mid-sized firms can't afford to invest in the infrastructure needed to 'grow up' a product. At the other end of the scale, shrink-wrapped small business packages are often insufficient for the requirements of mid-sized companies, as they do not offer the scalability, security or sophistication required for a relatively large user base.

So until now, the mid-market gap has been filled by enterprise software trickling down from larger solutions packaged by ISVs -- software companies that have traditionally rallied around technologies that they can leverage successfully.

Most mid-size businesses use a blend of platforms on the server side, and PCs or terminals for users. For the foreseeable future, there's no indication that Microsoft will support devices outside the Windows environment. Microsoft is unable to control the messages communicated by its supply chain, so it jumps straight to the business user with a "simple solution" message.