Financial Times Richard Waters recently reported that the sequel of the software industry ideology war. Its name is: Empire counterattack.
Soon, a new idea, claiming that the Internet will become a new, more flexible computing platform, which makes Microsoft caught the dangerous place of being covered. The Java language is a computer language invented by Sun Microsystems. Regardless of the operating system installed, the computer software written in this language can be downloaded and running on any computer. One version of this standard is designed for heavyweight enterprises, called J2EE. It has become the main body of complex Internet systems that carry out e-commerce companies.
In the face of Java threats, Microsoft's late response is finally a vitality. Technologies known as .NET (pronounced DOT NET) have been admitted in 2000. This technology makes Microsoft's Windows operating systems with similar functions. According to the IT industry, the Microsoft software platform for the Internet is finally won a large number of loyal assistants.
Mike Gilpin, a "Forrester Research", "Forrester Research", said that the company recently suited to a survey of IT sectors of the US Enterprise, and .NET users have exceeded J2EE. Data of Forest shows that about 56% of the company IT department plans to put the most important technical research and development work on Microsoft's platform, and only 44% of companies are more focused on the Java platform.
To some extent, these numbers mask the different uses in use. .NET hopes to be able to use a relatively smaller enterprise relatively small, technical network relatively uncommon companies, so .NET can only explain the issue of on the digital. On the other hand, those systems that rely on very complex, safe, and large trading, such as the financial services industry, still stand firmly in the Java camp.
However, Flester's number still shows that Microsoft has achieved significant counterattack results in this field. And this area will continue to prosper to prosperly prosperity in the new era of software industry in the software industry. Since Java can run in a Linux system based on open source, it has become a common selection of modern IT systems. In order to defend its sharp window operating system, Microsoft has no choice but to respond to the Sun micro system.
"They reduce the loss of Microsoft Technology Camp", analysts of IT Research Institute Gartner, Mark Driver, said. "At the beginning, the momentum of transforming Java technology is very fierce, and it seems to be taking Microsoft."
As Microsoft's classic practice, defense is quickly turning to attack. Bill Gates, Chairman and Chief Software Designer of Microsoft, said that the next stage of this business war will decide who can become the dominance of the software platform in the information age.
"In the next few years, in these two technologies, there must be a better software technology that will emerge," Mr. Gats declared in the analyst meeting held by Microsoft, in the next month.
However, many other people in the science and technology community do not think that Microsoft and Sun Microsystems are launched a battle against life and death. "In 1995, he published similar speech", "Steve Mills, director of IBM Software, said. "People like to choose. Not everyone likes black cars."
The battle between .NET and Java is mainly to compete for software developers. There are about 7 million professional software developers worldwide, write code with specific functions on a certain basic environment or platform. For companies that strive to become a software platform supplier, winning these software personnel is critical.
The success of the Microsoft Window operating system is largely due to successfully attracted a large number of software developers. They write their own "package" commercial software to customers, or to adaptate software for a business purpose of their own business.
The more software platforms are used by the software, the stronger the attraction of the platform to the user. "This is mainly to maintain a long-term platform relationship with a variety of software developers", and the person in charge of Microsoft .NET business development department Dan'l Lewin said. In a sense, based on common technical standards, it means that the distance between the .NET and Java camps is not as far as it is. Since large companies usually use a mixed IT system that combines windows and many other technologies, companies like Microsoft, IBM are working together to make their technology to implement "interoperability".
But one of Microsoft's main tactics has always given full play to its advantages of dominating on a personal computer. Taking Microsoft's latest version of office software (Office) as an example, it contains functions of server software collaboration with the company's back-end to facilitate work together. "This interconnect function is an important part of their strategy", and Independent Research Institutions "Directions On Microsoft Analyst" Directions ON Microsoft).
Because companies do not abandon or replace their existing IT systems in the short term, these two technologies are likely to coexist in the next few years. Microsoft's technology depends on in-depth integration with the window operating system. "Have your own operational platform, it is the advantage of the born", Accenture, an IT consultation and service, Tony Roby, a partnership Tony Roby, is said. In theory, this will bring a higher integration software stack.
Mr. Li Wen will compare this than Lego blocks. Microsoft's technology can be closely fitted, while the Sun micro-system technology allows different developers to launch their software and then assemble them together. However, Microsoft's technology also has its own weaknesses, that is, the user is completely dependent on Microsoft's development progress. Microsoft's next-generation window, that is, it is not released by the operating system of "longhorn", meaning that users don't choose, only slowly wait a few years ago. On the contrary, Java has always claimed that its advantage is that the technical standards are open: many companies have developed products in this standard.
In theory, this means that the user of Java technology does not need to face the so-called "lock" risk, from .NET from the technology provided by a company. Moreover, fierce competition between various technical companies will suppress excessive rising prices.
However, reality is not so simple. Many companies that use Java technology, such as IBM and Sun, hoping to add features to software sales. This allows them to wait for a good feature to be added in software standards (this is often a slow process), which helps them sell their products at high prices.
The difference in these characteristics means that software that can be run on a Java system cannot run on another system. Gartner's Dreft said that about 80% of the code is overlapping on the current stage. However, once this overlap rate drops to 60%, the attraction of open source code may be smoked. There is no doubt that Microsoft likes to render this differentiation in the Java camp, which makes Java technology split.
However, many companies are afraid to be "locked" from a technology company to buy products from a technology company, which is still a strong support for Java technology.
"From a certain extent, this has been stained with political color," said Mr. Drev. For example, some countries, especially developing countries, hoping to cultivate their own software industry, so they naturally tend to adopt open technical standards represented by Java. This means they reduce the degree of dependence on any company. However, as far as it is, Microsoft .NET front is justified. "Microsoft is advancing the speed than the Java camp", Mr. Demichillie said. Of course, this does not mean that Microsoft will make the final or continuous victory. There are still many obstacles that require Microsoft to overcome. Currently, in the programmer of Visual Basic Development Software, only half of the corresponding .NET technology is used. To a large extent, it is still necessary to see if the new system tools launched next year will succeed in attracting the "backward molecules" in the programmer to the new platform. In addition, it seems that at least 2007, .NET will be a analyst with continuous improvement technology, and an analyst of IT Research Institute IDC. But at least, the Microsoft Empire is fully engaged. (CCID / SUII)
