Microsoft looks to spark upgrade cycle
Yahoo | at | by Mike
Microsoft hopes its Windows .Net Server 2003 operating system will be the product that finally gets users of its 6-year-old Windows NT Server 4.0 system to upgrade en masse. Microsoft is counting on this upgrade cycle to drive revenue growth and to advance its .Net business strategy. But that's not likely to happen when .Net Server 2003 is released in April, analysts say. Many NT 4 users are comfortable with NT and don't see a reason to switch.
But sales of the new server software could have a domino effect. It could help Microsoft sell new versions of its SQL Server database, Visual Studio development tools and other products, Gillen says. Windows .Net Server also includes ways to enable Web services - a means of easily sharing data among different software programs and systems using Internet standards. Microsoft has branded its Web services efforts .Net, pronounced "dot net."