Event Summary
1/3/2000
[ZDNet]- Microsoft's Windows 2000 operating system, scheduled to ship on February
17, 2000, presently only has six applications certified to run on the Professional
version, and only one certified on the Server variation.
As
the release of Microsoft Corp.'s Windows 2000 nears, the small number of available
applications certified to run with the operating system is causing some IT managers
concern. Today, only five applications are certified to run on Windows 2000
Professional, and only one on the Server version. While Microsoft officials
in Redmond, Wash., say that number should grow to about 40 applications for
Professional by the time the operating system ships on Feb. 17, that is still
far fewer than certification programs for other operating systems.
Lack
of certification does not mean an application will not run on Windows 2000.
Certification, however, ensures a smooth transition to an application from previous
versions, among other things. This is the first time Microsoft has instituted
such a certification program for Windows, and some IT managers are stressing
the importance of the issue when discussing migration.
Although
testing has accelerated with the release to manufacturing of Win2K, the test
labs at Microsoft certification partner VeriTest Inc. are reportedly jammed.
In fact, Office 2000 is not yet certified.
Lotus
Development Corp.'s office productivity suite, SmartSuite, will not be certified
for Windows 2000 Professional because the certification process is too expensive,
said a spokeswoman for the IBM subsidiary in Cambridge, Mass.
Market
Impact
We
consider this delay to be a moderate foul-up - not fatal, but not a non-issue.
If only 40 applications are certified by ship date, that will put a damper on
rapid acceptance of Win2K. The lack of certification for Office 2000 at this
late date is puzzling, since Microsoft should theoretically be able to get their
own, in-house, key application certified before such lesser players as Damgaard
A/S's Axapta 3.0 ERP suite. This will provide a limited opportunity for Linux
vendors to continue the war of words (See TEC News Analysis article: "OS
SmackDown!"). If the dearth of apps lasts long enough - say, less than 500
by year-end - it will provide an opportunity for Linux vendors to get more applications
certified on their OS, allowing them to make greater inroads.
Although
Microsoft is trying to put its best face on this report, it can not be happy
about this. After a delay of more than a year delivering Windows NT 5.0 (a/k/a
Windows 2000), management must be wondering who dropped the ball on this one,
too. This will certainly not be fatal to Redmond, but it will lose them "goodwill"
from those customers who signed up early.
In the long term, the effects on Microsoft will depend on whether Linux forces
can exploit this to their greatest advantage. The major concern with changing
from Windows-of-whatever-flavor to Linux is whether the necessary applications
are available. If the "Linux" community does not exploit this opportunity, it
is unlikely Microsoft will let them get a second chance. One other potential
exploiter of this is Sun, but we do not see them as being as great a threat
in the desktop space as Linux.
User
Recommendations
For those users relying on "Windows 2000 certified" applications for critical
operations - keep your fingers crossed that the people at VeriTest work faster
than anyone expects. For those users committed to Win2K, but not requiring "certified"
applications, you can proceed as planned, as long as you understand the risks
associated with running applications which may not gain their certification
soon, if at all.
Users
requiring Windows 2000 Server certified applications will need to wait a little
longer, and we recommend delaying the upgrade to Win2K Server for three to six
months.
For
users looking for an excuse to consider operating systems other than Windows,
now is as good a time as any to check out Linux, Solaris or Unix .