.NET Server's promise
C|Net | at | by Mike
Whether Microsoft's .Net Server 2003, due in the next several months, is late to market or whether what's shipped is ready for mass deployment isn't really that interesting. Microsoft is working on more important developments higher up the technology stack--for example, its recently announced new application server, content management and commerce server functionality. These are the areas in which companies will see value above the bits and bytes of the operating system.
When Microsoft does ship .Net Server 2003, we can expect the usual early hiccups around security and performance--things that Redmond may not have fully ironed out. But the product will be ready for companies to use. Forrester has tested the company's Advanced Server 2000 with the .Net Framework, and its functionality is equivalent to that of many of the Java application servers sold by IBM and BEA Systems in areas like caching and resource pooling.