Microsoft

Quotes:

"Analysts at Gartner, Inc. are advising clients to immediately review their Microsoft software licensing agreements. After a July 31, 2002 deadline, Microsoft software customers will no longer be able to sign Select version 5 agreements, purchase Upgrade Advantage on noncurrent version licenses or enroll their current version licenses in Software Assurance. Gartner is urging clients to evaluate their Microsoft licensing requirements and renegotiate immediately where appropriate."

"'This deadline has already been extended twice and most likely will not be extended again,' said Gartner analyst Alvin Park. 'Clients who miss the July 31 deadline could pay up to 45 percent more for their licenses at their next upgrade cycle. Act now to ensure that your company can hang onto Select version 5 agreements one last time, upon which to purchase Upgrade Advantage or Software Assurance on existing licenses before July 31, 2002.'"

"'CIOs and technology teams don’t need a surprise cost increase after July 31, 2002,' said Park. 'As Microsoft Upgrade Advantage and Select version 5 evaporate after July 31, so does the potential for significant savings.'"

Source: "Gartner Alerts Clients to Review Microsoft Software Licensing Agreements Now to Prepare for July 31, 2002 Deadline," May 21, 2002

"Microsoft has experienced a large increase in the number of registered users for its Passport service, but most users are signing up to use it for other Microsoft offerings, according to a new survey by Gartner, Inc."

"The Gartner survey shows Microsoft has managed to double its number of registered Passport users in just six months, from 7 million who were registered in August 2001 to 14 million who were registered as of February 2002. However, Gartner believes that Microsoft's requirement of the Passport service to access its other offerings -- such as Hotmail, Windows XP, and Microsoft Messenger -- is a much more powerful incentive for registration than is consumer interest in using Passport features."

"'Consumer demand typically drives the adoption of new products and services, but the rollout of Passport services is clearly not following that general rule,' said Avivah Litan, vice president and research director for Gartner. 'Most consumers are signing up because they have to and not because of a strong interest in the convenience features Passport offers.'"

"Gartner analysts said Microsoft's rollout of Passport is critical to the company's Web services strategy. The more Passport users Microsoft enrolls, the more Web servers and services it sells to companies supporting Passport, and the more mass audience it commands."

"'This, in turn, earns Microsoft higher advertising revenue, more lucrative affiliate deals, and potential customer referral transaction fees in the future,' Litan said. 'Passport is considered an essential piece of infrastructure in Microsoft's bid to sell software as Web services, which is part of its overall .NET strategy.'"

Source: "Passport, But Mostly to Get Other Offerings," April 17, 2002

"As the Microsoft antitrust case nears an end, the company has built up a cash reserve of $38 billion, which makes the possibility of large acquisitions by Microsoft almost inevitable, according to Gartner, Inc. During the past 10 years, Microsoft has acquired more than 60 companies, but its acquisition activity has slowed during antitrust proceedings."

"'Holding off on acquisitions was cautious and sensible, and maintaining significant cash on hand was a wise insurance policy in the unlikely event Microsoft had been forced to split into two or more companies,' said Tom Bittman, vice president and research director for Gartner. 'Now that it appears Microsoft will come through the case somewhat unscathed, it will find a way to invest this cash through key acquisitions.'"

"Gartner anticipates Microsoft making major acquisitions in professional services, workload management and media, among other areas. By year-end 2005, Microsoft will likely spend at least $15 billion to acquire up to five IT professional services vendors, including a large IT professional services vendor with a globally recognized brand, according to Gartner."

Source: "Gartner Says Acquisitions Are in the Future for Microsoft," April 10, 2002

"The roll out of Microsoft's .NET Internet platform strategy will lead to a resurgence in rich-client application deployment, according to Gartner, Inc. However, Gartner said this will result not in a return to client/server of days past, but rather in a hybrid approach that shares code between client and middle-tier application servers."

"Gartner forecasts that, by 2005, as much as 60 percent of new .NET applications will be designed with rich, or "high fidelity" client deployment in mind."

"'Although unclear at times, Microsoft's .NET message has focused on delivering a range of computing experiences, from browser-based to rich-client-based,' said David Smith, vice president and research director for Gartner. 'We expect that, by the end of 2002, .NET will have an ActiveX replacement technology that will provide similar downloadable code capabilities in a more secure way that will be more acceptable to enterprises.'"

"Additional information on the impact of .NET will be presented at Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2002, being held April 29-May 2 at San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California, and at Gartner's Windows conference in Los Angeles from April 8-10. Gartner Symposium/ITxpo is the IT industry's largest and most strategic conference, providing business leaders with a look today at the future of IT."

Source: "Gartner Predicts Return to Rich-Client Application Deployment Will Be Led by Microsoft's .NET," April 2, 2002