Third Parties Can Capitalize on HailStorm

Microsoft has revealed a process for third parties to help it develop new HailStorm services, which are data stores of user information that can be accessed by applications and other Web services. It also announced that VeriSign would provide certificate-based authentication for organizations accessing these HailStorm services.

These announcements signal several opportunities: companies can get a jump on competitors in developing applications based on HailStorm and can provide services in areas such as security and infrastructure, where Microsoft is perceived to be weak. Companies may also benefit from incentives given to early HailStorm adopters.

New HailStorm Services

To be deemed a “HailStorm” service (the name will probably change when the beta is released later this year), a Web service must contain the following parts:

• A centralized, Internet-connected data store containing a specific type of information about individual users, such as addresses, calendar appointments, or the