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INTRANET REORDERS THE COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE IN NETWORK
COMPUTING
Microsoft Corp. or Redmont, Wash. has changed the competitive
environment in the Internet market according to a recent report from
Forrester Research Inc. of Cambridge, Mass. “By giving away a
Web browser with every Win 95 desktop and a Web server with each NT
server, Microsoft has put Lotus, Netscape, and Novell on the defensive
with a single stroke,” says Paul Callahan, director of Forrester's
Network Strategy Service.
What has happened to alter the competitive landscape within the corporation?
Forrester says it’s the overnight adoption of Intranets—internal
corporate TCP/IP networks that carry Internet-developed applications
like the Web. Intranets will force major network software vendors to
immediately recast their strategies. As Intranet construction continues
at a breakneck pace, this new application environment will make Microsoft
the company to beat.
“Most companies have all the required elements for an Intranet
staring them in the face: routers everywhere, TCP/IP on a pile of PC
desktops, plus Web servers and browsers coming out of the woodwork,”
Callahan claims. “It's so easy to build an Intranet, it’s
hard to resist. For vendors, this incredible adoption rate is like an
earthquake—they must adapt or get run over by the Web kids.”
According to Callahan, the applications implemented on these corporate
Intranets are relatively simple. They include programs that allow employees
to check their 401K balances, schedule meetings, study the latest compensation
plan, or apply for a new internal job.
“Most companies can get these applications up and running with
a simple Web server,” he asserts. “This is definitely a
case of the technology being just good enough to get the job done. The
Intranet has become a cheap application highway for the big corporation.”
How can vendors threatened by this tidal wave, such as Novell Inc. of
Orem, Utah, keep from being overwhelmed? “Novell's only hope is
to become the directory company,” Callahan insists. “To
pull it off though, NetWare Directory Services (NDS) must get picked
up by every ISV in the universe. Right now, the company is not even
halfway there.”
What’s in store for Mountain View, Calif.-based Netscape Communications
Corp.? “Andreessen (a Netscape founder and author of the Netscape
browser) and company should target the high-end muscular Web server
market” Callahan suggests. “If Netscape buys Open Market,
the pair would be unassailable for at least 12 months.
He believes IBM's subsidiary Lotus Development Corp. in Cambridge, Mass.
has done the right thing by wrapping Notes in the Web. “Beyond
that, Lotus needs to walk away from the desktop client business and
focus on creating a hot SMTP e-mail server,” Callahan avows.
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