Dwight Davis Oft Quotations

It does a very hard thing: it makes Microsoft a sympathetic character.

SOAP created a common way for two different pieces of software to connect to each other. In the past, many applications were monolithic--made up of hundreds of thousands of lines of 'spaghetti' code. It was tough to modify any one piece without causing a ripple effect.

The basic model of selling software as a hosted service has finally started to get some traction,

They're taking a more intimate role, and not depending solely on partners to give that support. It is a response to backlash from customers who wanted Microsoft to have more of a role there, to stand as the ultimate backstop for support.

The perception among a lot of customers is that nobody understands Microsoft products like Microsoft. Many of them want the security of that direct relationship with Microsoft.

Telcos and network service providers, ASPs and ISPs, have all been growing as important players in the distribution of software functionality. With Windows 2000, Microsoft clearly thinks it has a much better horse to ride into battle to get these folks as customers. They will emphasize the new ASP channel as one they are especially targeting in that regard. They need a platform that actually runs 24 hours a day, and on bigger hardware configurations.

Interestingly, it sort of raises some of the issues about Microsoft bundling features into the operating system, which of course has been core to the whole antitrust issue.

Microsoft has a long history of publicizing its strategies by leaking memos judiciously, or not so judiciously.

Not just Microsoft but everybody has been trying to come up with new ways to increase their penetration into that smaller part of the market.