But Wait, There's More

• If you were annoyed by the .NET brand name extension that Microsoft was tacking on to all of its operating systems and middleware programs, you'll be happy to know that someone at the company has shown some good sense and has extracted the name from the products. Microsoft dropped ".NET" from the "Whistler" Windows Server 2003 release earlier this year, and it seemed pretty clear that using the .NET extension was causing more harm than good, particularly since the real .NET operating system from Microsoft--the future "Blackcomb" release--is not expected until 2006 or 2007, after being pushed out. Now, says Paul Flessner, senior vice president of the Server Platform Division at Microsoft, the whole shebang will be called the Windows Server System. Microsoft wants to make it clear that the server is at the center of the system, in essence, and it doesn't want people thinking about what .NET is or isn't. The whole thing was distracting, quite honestly. Good riddance to .NET. We'll just say "XML-enabled middleware" and "operating systems" from here on out. The Windows Server System includes BizTalk Server, Commerce Server, Content Management Server, Host Integration Server, SQL Server, Exchange Server, SharePoint Portal Server, Project Server, Real-Time Communications Server, Internet Security and Acceleration Server, Systems Management Server, Operations Manager, and Application Center.
  
  

• The Wintel duopoly is holding steady in its entirety in the first quarter of 2003, even though the world's economies are not doing well. As Intel reported that sales were flat in the quarter, Microsoft reported a bump in sales and profits. Intel said that sales and net earnings per share in its first quarter were flat, at $6.75 billion and 14 cents respectively. Sales of processors were down, sales of chipsets were flat, and sales of motherboards were down in the first quarter, the company said. Intel said that in the current economic climate it was tough to predict how the second quarter would go, but it hoped sales would come in at between $6.4 billion and $7.0 billion. Microsoft said that sales in its third fiscal quarter, which ended March 31, were up by 8 percent to $7.84 billion and that net income was essentially flat at $2.79 billion, or 26 cents a share. The company said that server platform sales were up by 21 percent, boosted by Windows 2000, Exchange Server, and SQL Server sales. SQL Server sales were up by 40 percent year-to-year, far outgrowing the database market as a whole. Microsoft said it expects sales of $7.8 billion to $7.9 billion in its final fiscal quarter, which is the second calendar quarter. Earnings per share are expected to be 23 or 24 cents a share. Microsoft is obviously more confident that it can meet its numbers (thanks in large measure to its annuity-like licensing for much of its software) than Intel.
  
  
• The Web Services Interoperability Organization last week announced the availability of the pre-release beta versions of two new testing tools for ensuring the proper function of Web services developed in C# or Java. The new Web Service Communication Monitor is used to capture messages exchanged between Web services (such as HTTP-based SOAP messages) and the software that invokes them, and it stores the messages for later analysis. The new Web Service Profile Analyzer evaluates messages captured by the Web Service Communication Monitor, and also validates the description and registration artifacts of the Web service. This includes the WSDL documents that describe the Web service and the XML schema files that describe the data types used in the WSDL service definition and in the UDDI registration entries. To download the new tools, go to www.ws-i.org.
  
  
• Among the list of companies surfacing as a possible acquirers of the Baan unit of Invensys is SSA Global Technologies. Struggling British engineering firm Invensys announced last week that it would begin selling off more than half of its assets in an attempt to repay debt and refocus on its core strengths. Among the divisions that Invensys listed for divestiture was Baan, a division of the business unit called Invensys Production Solutions (formerly Baan Process Solutions). Baan sells the OS/400-based PRISM and Microsoft Windows-based Protean suites of ERP software for companies in process industries. Invensys, however, provided mixed messages, as it reported that it would seek to hold onto its production management software for the process industries, which would include PRISM and Protean, as well as a software suite called Wonderware. If the process ERP suites are up for sale, however, SSA GT would have to be considered a leading candidate to buy them. The Chicago-based software company, which focuses on OS/400-based ERP software but also owns ERP suites for Windows and Unix platforms, has made clear its intentions to continue to grow through acquisitions. Several weeks ago, SSA GT secured an additional $75 million in funding through General Atlantic Partners.
  
  
• It's all about the little guy now with J.D. Edwards. The Denver-based ERP software company recently signed on with brij, a JDE distributor that also offers marketing services, to remake JDE's image as a friend of mom and pop. The first project on tap is a mailer filled with "visual intrigue and return-on-investment testimonials" that will go out to the IT departments of small and midsized shops with revenues of less than $130 million per year. "We chose to grab the audience with visual stories and then pull them into fact-filled testimonials on the inherent affordability and flexibility of J.D. Edwards' collaborative enterprise software," says Clay Thornton, creative director at brij. JDE also says it's taking this action to dispel the "myth" that the company only sells software to Fortune 500 companies. (In fact, JDE is best known as a midrange ERP software and is usually not in on the bigger ERP deals at tier-one shops, which are dominated by the likes of SAP, PeopleSoft, and Oracle.)
  
  
• Resolutions, the Suwanee, Georgia, provider of document management software for Windows, Unix, and OS/400 platforms, recently formed a new partnership with Image Information, a systems integrator in Roswell, Georgia, that specializes in imaging, report management, computer output to laser disk (COLD), and related technologies. As part of the partnership, Image Information has become a master value added reseller for Resolutions and will sell Resolution's complete line of products. Image Information originally formed an agreement in 2002 to sell Resolutions' R-File Manager, an imaging package for converting paper documents into searchable digital records. As a master VAR, Image Information will start selling the rest of the products in the Resolutions line, including R-Forms, R-Fax, R-Checks, and R-Output Manager.
  
  

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