Investigate the purpose of Microsoft.NET initiative.

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BIS Project – Final Report

Semester 1 2002

Project JBW8 Microsoft.NET Initiative

Investigate the purpose of Microsoft.NET initiative

By Paula Nyland

BSc (Hons) Modular Degree BIS Pathway

December 2002


Summary

This project relates to the investigation of a brand new technology from Microsoft – Microsoft.NET.  The project was the final module of the authors’ BSc (Hons) degree in Business Information Systems at Bolton Institute and was the suggested topic of the sponsor.  The outcome of the project was perhaps not the outcome the sponsor might have wished for as it had been undertaken from a business point of view and not the more technical computing angle he may have hoped for.  This was due to the fact that the author was not on the computing pathway for the degree qualification.  

The outline of the problem was to investigate the purpose of the Microsoft.NET initiative and to bring together the information found from the research undertaken into two end products.  Firstly a simple interactive presentation explaining in simple terms what .NET is and secondly a PowerPoint presentation to bring together the findings to present a comprehensive information base.  At this point it is worth noting that the information about the initiative is that of what Microsoft.NET does for businesses rather than what it does from a technical stand point.

At the time of writing a great deal of information had been investigated and an overview of the technology established.  An understanding of what the aims of the initiative were had also developed.  The simple interactive presentation had been created using Flash and the PowerPoint presentation was underway.  However, there would still remain much research into the technology, as it was still evolving, almost weekly.  The investigations into the benefits to users were incomplete due to the embryonic state of the technology.  Case study material had been found and investigated but financial benefits were difficult to assess, as there was nothing to compare them to.

The achievements made during this project are reflected well by the information contained within the final presentations.  These include significant milestones such as the Interim Research Report (appendix 1), the production of the presentations and the accomplishment of most of the objectives in the Terms of Reference (appendix 2).  In reaching these milestones a number of challenges have been met, most of which were overcome by persistence and hard work.

During the project there has been no significant change in direction, although the objective of indicating success factors, found in the case study material, has been difficult as there was no material published where success had not been achieved. Therefore developing a way to measure this success proved impossible at the time of writing this report.  The objective to find out and categorise the business problems that the initiative is trying to solve was also proving to be impossible as Microsoft insist that .NET solves all business problems where communicating is done via the use of technology.  

After initial research was undertaken it was found to be useful to investigate the development of the use of the Internet in order to give background information as to why the .NET technology might have been developed.  The findings from this gave a base knowledge from which to work for the rest of the project.  Without this knowledge there might have been a question as to why the technology was needed.

Due to the embryonic state of the technology being investigated this project could not possibly be seen as complete.  There were still areas that needed to be investigated as each new piece of the jigsaw was released and put into place.  The technology embraced new ways of working for Businesses, End Users, Developers and IT Solution Providers.  The capability of the Microsoft.NET technology was still being discovered and tested.  Only time would reveal the true potential of such technology for everyone employing the use of ICT as a business solution.


Contents

Appendices

        1        Interim Research Report

        2        Terms of Reference

        3        Dollar Case Study

        4        Nasdaq.com Case Study

        5        MSNBC.com Case Study

  1. Marks & Spencer Case Study

    7        Project Schedule


Introduction

The following report covers the results of several months work on investigating the purpose of the Microsoft.NET initiative.  It brings together the findings about the subject and helps to finalise many thoughts and feelings about the process and completion of the project itself.

The activities in this investigation have been undertaken between February and October 2002, with the exception of the summer break where the plan had been to complete much of the project but in reality the file was never opened (mainly due to my darling children and housework).

The bulk of this report concentrates upon the work conducted and its findings, with the final section allowing for reflection on the process.  Also, some analysis of why some of the objectives had not been met is a necessity.

It has to be said that this project could not have been undertaken if it were not for some very special people.  They are:  my husband who bore the brunt of so many annoyances during the course of my degree and who is now very adept at ironing and housework, my children Paul and Chris who are responsible for the need to gain a degree in order to get a better job and earn more money, my mum and dad who are always there for me, Val McDade and Vicky Barrow who were always willing to cry with me then cheer me up, Bob Doxey who encouraged me to continue with the degree that first Christmas when I was about to give up, Julie Harding who put up with me moaning, Geoff Porritt (the Prof) a very clever man who always gave freely of his time and knowledge and finally, David Linsell who had faith in me and allowed me to follow my dreams.  

Acknowledgement also needs to go to the lecturers over the last two years who made me understand how to be a good teacher.  Special thanks have to go to Jim Williamson who is in a league of his own, who stores some amazing information within his head and generates some thought provoking statements at times.  Thanks also to John Blower who gives such wonderful lectures and introduced me to ‘Blowers’ Theory of Tables’.  Lastly to Margaret Ford who gave me an on-going interest in computer law.


Project Aims

The aim of this project was to investigate the purpose of the Microsoft.NET initiative.  Following discussions with the Sponsor it was clear that his anticipated outcomes of the project were somewhat different than first expected in that he was hoping for technical investigations and comparisons into the construction of the new programming languages developed in .NET and other related topics.  However, as a student on the Business Information Systems pathway, the expectation from myself was that the emphasis would be more on the business opportunities provided by the new technology.  

It was muted in the beginning that investigations might look at competitors for the technology, but that was soon dismissed when initial research showed that there were no real competitors in the market place due to the fact that this was Microsoft.  Objectives were eventually agreed with the sponsor and the project began in earnest.

The project now focused on developing an understanding of what Microsoft.NET is, what it does and how it can help businesses to communicate and simplify its transactions and systems.

Project Development

Approach

The completion of this project has come about by investing a great deal of time and effort in research and investigation.  The research (discussed in the following sections) represents a more detailed report submitted in June 2002 in the form of the Interim Research report and is incorporated to some extent within this final report where necessary to explain the outcomes and successes where objectives were met, and to provide information about why objectives were not met.

Literature Search

The aim of conducting a literature search was to develop an understanding of Microsoft.NET and to facilitate the search for similar technologies.  The search also included the quest for case study material.

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Due to the embryonic nature of the technology the research began with a general web search to locate any information about the topic.  This found many sites that provided varied information about .NET.  From these a general overview was gained.  Further searches within the main sites led to more technical information and then case study material, particularly from Microsoft sites.  Further discussion was provoked by non-Microsoft sites such as Sun Microsystems and more impartial information from O’Reilly.

More conventional methods of research were also conducted, but with a lack of success mainly because the technology was so ...

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