Professional Developers Conference

Microsoft Preps for Oslo with .NET and Windows Server Previews

| Oct 29, 2008 | Application Infrastructure | Show Update

| Analyst: Brad Shimmin

Current Perspective: Very Positive
Vendor Importance: Very High
Market Impact: High

Event Summary

October 27, 2008 – At its annual Professional Developers Conference, Microsoft previewed a Community Technology Preview (CTP) of Windows Workflow Foundation and Windows Communication Foundation, which will be released within .NET 4.0. Microsoft also previewed a number of technology additions to Windows Server code named “Dublin” and released the WCF REST Starter Kit on its developer community site, Codeplex, as a means of demonstrating RESTful scenarios in a .NET environment.

Analytical Summary

• Current Perspective: Positive on Microsoft's preview of .NET 4.0 and various Windows Server extensions (code named Dublin) at its annual Professional Developers Conference. The innovations demonstrated in these two releases firmly set the stage for the company's ambitious application modeling and composition initiative called Oslo. While the company's numerous technology updates will create temporary difficulties for Microsoft and while Oslo remains a long-term investment, the company is has set the stage for a comprehensive deployment and management environment that will appeal to SOA-capable Microsoft shops.

• Vendor Importance: Very high to Microsoft, because the company must construct a coordinated overhaul of its application infrastructure in order to set the stage for Oslo, beginning with Windows Server with Dublin and .NET 4.0 and moving on to supportive releases of Visual Studio 2010 and an internally developed registry/repository.

• Market Impact: High on the middleware software and services market. While .NET 4.0 and Windows Server with Dublin technologies will not enter the market until later next year, Microsoft's early involvement with its developer constituency and ISV partner ecosystem will pay dividends for Microsoft over the long run. Though a fully realized Oslo project will not allow Microsoft to compete head on with rivals TIBCO, Oracle, IBM, Software Ag and others in terms of delivering a comprehensive and scalable infrastructure, it will allow Microsoft to field a platform that is well suited to its customer base.

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Current Perspective

Competitive Positives and Concerns

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