• Microsoft has introduced the first .NET application architecture for a vertical market. The recently announced .NET for Manufacturing shows solution providers and application architects the changes Microsoft will make in its Distributed Internet Architecture (DNA) design guidelines for specific industries, such as financial services, health care, and retail. The .NET for Manufacturing architecture updates DNA for Manufacturing, which describes how Microsoft components can be used to build manufacturing automation systems. The main difference between .NET for Manufacturing and its DNA parent is the addition of the BizTalk Server business-to-business commerce product, along with the latest versions of other server applications (e.g., SQL Server 2000). Despite the .NET moniker, the new architecture does not incorporate any of the .NET Framework technology announced in June 2000. (See "Developers Get First Look at .NET Framework" on page 21 of the Aug. 2000 Update.) For background on DNA for Manufacturing, see "New Software Architecture Initiative Targets Manufacturing" on page 3 of the Apr. 1999 Update.