What Is .NET? Microsoft Executives Answer

Asked to explain what .NET is, various Microsoft executives answer it in different ways, although the core concept is similar in every case. Here are some samples, culled from recent interviews and transcripts with key executives during 2002.

Bill Gates typically calls it “software to connect information, people, systems, and devices.”

Neil Charney, director of .NET strategy for Microsoft, is slightly more specific, describing .NET as “software for connecting information, people, and devices using XML.”

A somewhat more elaborate version comes from Bill Veghte, speaking at a Goldman Sachs retreat in Nov. 2002: “The whole premise behind .NET, and it’s an industry challenge that we faced for years and years, which is how do you unlock all the data, how do you connect all the systems and then how do you expose that data to people in a meaningful way? . . . I think of [.NET] as a collection of technologies that enable connections to apps and resources.”

Other executives put less emphasis on .NET’s role in connecting people and devices, and more on its role as a fabric for linking server applications.