Ballmer in charge
InfoWorld | at | by Mike
On one knows better than Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer that, as the .Net platform evolves, the success of Microsoft depends on how well the company coordinates its tool, server, and client strategies and how well it communicates that vision. In an interview with InfoWorld Test Center Director Steve Gillmor and InfoWorld Editor at Large Ed Scannell at Microsoft Fusion 2002, Ballmer discussed the progress of .Net, changes in the company's approach to product development, and Microsoft's efforts to simplify product licensing and inspire trust in customers and partners.
Last time we talked was two years ago, at the beginning of the .Net era. So where are we now in the .Net evolution?
Let me start by talking about where I think we are in the XML revolution first, and then [I will] talk about where we are with .Net. I believe that the IT industry collectively decided over the last three or four years that the world was going to be replatformed with XML as the key foundation. It's not like anyone ever got together to decide this, but it's like magnetic north, where it's been clearly indicated that everyone is rallying around the concept. But I think the degree to which [XML] is pervasive might still be underestimated. A lot of partners, even at this conference, see it as b-to-b for big companies. But it is really about the way software in general is designed. It is all about the way security should work. Management -- everything is changed.