HailStorm Fulfills Crucial Roles for .NET

Microsoft has announced HailStorm, an extensible platform for centrally storing data from users, making this data available to applications running on myriad computing devices, and charging users to access these applications. The most significant new technology announcement to come out of Microsoft since the June 2000 .NET launch, HailStorm makes clearer how the company plans to transition from its current business model—selling packaged software that runs on Windows-based PCs—to its .NET vision of selling subscription-based Web services, available from any device with Internet connectivity.

HailStorm is an exceptionally bold move, even for Microsoft, which has traditionally gone after new markets with the intensity of a pit bull. To succeed, Microsoft must convince developers, businesses, and end-users to make some big leaps of faith: that Microsoft is a trustworthy and competent guardian of private data; that the Internet and Microsoft’s planned infrastructure are reliable enough to base important applications upon; that consumers will find it worth paying for always-on services that share data; and that Web developers and ISVs will find that the benefits of outsourcing crucial functions to Microsoft outweigh the drawbacks. If HailStorm succeeds, Microsoft could become the primary gatekeeper for a new generation of Web-based applications for consumers and businesses, potentially gaining billions in new revenues and justifying both the enormous effort to develop core .NET technologies and its continuing expenditures on Web properties like MSN.