Microsoft`s .NET development platform looks set to dominate the IT landscape for as far ahead as anyone can see. This is the word from Clive Hubbard, CEO of business systems solutions provider DVT. This has significant implications for anyone seeking to make a medium- to long-term technology investment.
"Decision-makers seeking to implement a robust technology development platform are faced with three options: the Microsoft way with .NET; the IBM, Oracle, Sun and Java way; or the open source way. Any of these three choices may be the right one - it all depends on the company`s needs," says Hubbard.
.NET encapsulates a radical way of thinking - it is designed from the ground up around connectivity and distribution of functionality in mind of the next generation of software, with XML at the core. The technology enables a high level of software integration through the use of Web services, discrete building block-type applications that connect to each other as well as to other large applications over the Internet. Infused into the products that make up the Microsoft platform, it provides the ability to rapidly and reliably build, host, deploy and use connected solutions using Web services.
Hubbard sees functionality as one of .NET`s strongest points over its competitors. Oracle and IBM have aligned themselves with Linux from an open source perspective. Microsoft, however, controls 90% of the operating market for PCs, 60% of the server market and is well positioned going forward.
".NET is probably the best marketed word in IT, but the least understood in terms of what it provides. Well on the leading, not bleeding, edge of the market, it still has at least eight strong years of market dominance over Java and open source technology," predicts Hubbard.
Common misunderstandings about .NET include it being a single technology rather than, in fact, a comprehensive family of products, built on industry and Internet standards, that provides for each aspect of developing, managing, using and experiencing Web services, connecting information, people, systems and devices and making software more intelligent through the interaction.
Other misconceptions are that .NET is designed for Web applications alone rather than for a wide range of applications, and that it is a wrapper for Visual Basic and C#, when it is in fact supported by more than 20 languages.
.NET takes a forward-thinking view to allow for smart client applications, providing the appropriate tools and the servers that allow connectivity for access to information anywhere, any time. It uses XML Web services, small reusable applications written in XML, the universal language for data exchange. Web services allow data to be communicated across the Internet or intranet between otherwise unconnected sources, such as client-to-client, client-to-server, server-to-server or service-to-service.
"The user-friendly style of .NET enables the abstraction of connectivity - the user does not have to understand the technology behind the informational interaction, despite the extremely advanced toolset. Designed to tailor towards the device rather than the other way around, it makes smart client applications very simple to create, and can be deployed and updated centrally," says Hubbard.
The .NET platform has a wide global following. There are more than 750 user groups worldwide communicating with more than a million users daily. As noted, more than 20 languages are supported and in excess of 350 tool providers use the technology.
Hubbard, who has worked with Microsoft development since Visual Basic 1.0 and co-authored an international bestseller book MS Advanced Visual Basic 5, has participated in a wide range of Microsoft activities in the UK from user groups and discussion forums to Microsoft events. He has been involved with .NET since its inception in the late 1990`s.
".NET has an excellent future as a result of its solid foundations, approach to rapid application development and support within the industry," says Hubbard. "The platform is the latest generation of development and functional capability that truly encompasses connectivity across a wide range of devices, communication platforms and office connectivity. No other technology has yet been able to match the considerable investment there is in .NET. There is no doubt the architecture will dominate for the foreseeable future."
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