Microsoft to Launch Windows 2000 to Skeptics

SAN MATEO (02/07/2000) - When I first heard Microsoft Corp. had applied to trademark the word "windows," I was astonished at the arrogance of a company that thought it could own such a commonly used word. Ten years later, both Microsoft Windows and the company's arrogance are legendary. Or perhaps notorious is a better word.

The impending release of Windows 2000 is different from previous Windows launches. There will be the usual hoopla, but there's serious skepticism about Windows 2000, according to my research colleague, Senior Associate Editor Jim Battey.

* Of 400 IT managers at companies with at least 2,000 employees, only 11 percent are already writing enterprise apps for Windows 2000. Thirty percent won't write apps until 2001, and 32 percent said they will never write enterprise apps for the OS Evans Marketing Services, which conducted the survey in December, contrasted the results with similar research from earlier in 1999.

"Corporate America is taking a wait-and-see attitude towards Windows 2000," noted vice president Janel Garvin. "... support for Linux and open-source software is significantly stronger than six months ago and showing signs of growing fast."

* Giga Information Group estimates that more than half of mainstream Windows 2000 server deployments will take place six to 18 months after the product ships. Of 1,100 IS managers polled by Giga, 47 percent believed Microsoft would deliver a relatively bug-free and easy-to-install Version 1.0; the other 53 percent were skeptical.

* Mixed-mode environments will be common for the next few years, according to the Gartner Group. Windows NT 4.0 will be viable through at least the end of 2004, company officials say, and most companies should plan on a phased migration over a period of several years. Gartner recommends that IT departments get commitments from third-party developers to continue supporting NT 4.0 through the end of 2001.

Whatever your plans for Windows 2000, you'll find useful information throughout this issue and in a special section on our Web site. A good place to start is with reviews of Windows 2000 Server, Windows 2000 Professional, and Advanced Server. If you have made the decision to upgrade, don't miss the Test Center Action Plan for upgrading, the Test Center Action Plan on how to ready your pre-existing Windows apps for Windows 2000, and a Test Center Analysis of COM+.

If you're still on the fence, the special news report lays out the implementation issues and analyzes overall migration trends. Other parts of the package include an interview with Jim Allchin, the Microsoft executive most directly responsible for Windows 2000; a look at how to create a successful end-user training program; and columns by Brian Livingston, Maggie Biggs, Bob Lewis, and the Security Watch team of Stuart McClure and Joel Scambray.

My personal migration

This is my final column as editorial director of InfoWorld. I'm leaving to launch my own company and like CEOs of Internet start-ups everywhere, that's all I can say about it. I've been part of the InfoWorld editorial team for seven years, four and a half years as editor in chief or editorial director and two and a half years as a contributing editor.

It's been great to have a front-row view of the technology revolution led by InfoWorld readers. When I arrived in June 1995, you and your companies were just beginning to venture onto the World Wide Web. Today, you're using technology to drive your businesses.

I've often boasted that InfoWorld readers are incredibly responsive to what you read here and on our Web site. I've personally enjoyed the interaction, and I encourage you to continue it with Editor in Chief Michael Vizard, whose column will appear here.

Sandy Reed has been a technology journalist for more than 15 years. As of Feb.

18, contact her at sandy@reed-ingle.com.

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