The Dozen 2002Microsoft Corp.Redmond, Wash.Behold, the desktop: It is, one hopes, a fertile plain for knowledge discovery to prosper amid the coffee cups, trade show trinkets, telephones, PDAs, and stacks of printed matter. And, of course, the computer: For so long, it was the alpha and omega of personal computing. But here comes the Internet, and everyone begins calling the PC a legacy — Microsoft's legacy. Microsoft's response became a matter for the courts to decide, which they did, ultimately producing a settlement that fell far short of dismembering the company. The resolution came just days after Microsoft launched Windows XP. Stranded in the swamps of a bad economy, the PC industry is crossing its fingers that XP will "raise all boats," in the words of Microsoft's James Allchin. Microsoft faced down its legacy crisis, and emerged stronger. It did it by taking a giant step back from the PC and getting the big picture: that is, of the entire desktop and what was most important to the person sitting in front of it, traveling to and from it, and holding meetings with colleagues around it. Rather than trying to make Windows the hammer that sees everything as a nail, Microsoft embarked on more sophisticated path to enlightenment. THE USER-CENTRIC WORLDWindows XP isn't so much a PC OS as it is a personal OS. It wants to surround you, to be the desktop that never leaves you, no matter where you are or what device you're using. Backed by Windows 2000's enterprise infrastructure, XP animates a range of productivity applications, data resources, and Web services delivered through .Net My Services, the official name for Microsoft's 2001 XML revelation, HailStorm. Object models and component APIs remain the stuff of Microsoft's strength as it battles Java and Linux for the hearts and minds of software developers. However, .Net revealed the company's deepening interest in data, although from a decidedly personal perspective: "XML is about putting users in control of their information," Bill Gates said. Lest we forget, humble Excel is still the world's best-known "BI" tool, which Microsoft is surrounding with visualization software, performance metric "dashboards," and .Net services for analytics. Buttressing this effort are the rapidly maturing SQL Server and Analysis Services, which enable users to build value-generating BI applications and provide them as services through .Net. The data-driven world is grappling with Microsoft's Faustian bargain. "BI for the masses" sounds great, but who owns the data? Are users — be they consumers, employees, or patients — ever really "in control" of their information? "Revolutionary" isn't the word most would use to describe Microsoft, but the impact of its user-centric vision is. MAJOR MOVES IN 2001· Released Windows XP, based on the Windows 2000 code base · Introduced .Net My Services, filling out its XML-driven vision · Demonstrated the T3 Business Intelligence Project, which pushes multidimensional OLAP beyond the size of most relational OLAP implementations · Reorganized key executives and sales strategy to support integrated services solutions CLASSIC CUSTOMERS· Hancock Information Group uses SQL Server to track the use of more than 200 databases; a server-side process manages the entire system's replication through one agent · Harris Interactive implements .Net technology to create a shared data infrastructure behind its new online polling registration system
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