Is HailStorm Really a Maelstrom?
By Clint Boulton March 20, 2001 When Microsoft Corp. Monday unveiled its first software-as-a-service set to a crowd of analysts and reporters, its very description drew immediate comparisons to the cross-platform interoperability of Sun Microsystem Inc.’s Java or to AOL. But even the most bullish observers believe that becoming king-of-the-hill in the service providing field will be a difficult task for Microsoft to accomplish, even if its notion of providing a more “personalized user experience,” holds true. “HailStorm” is the name, and – coaxing developers to create Web services based on the increasingly-more-important XML standard – is the game, it seems. Essentially, the software titan aims to reach more users through cross-platform interoperability such as mobile instant messaging service akin to AOL’s AIM service; consumers with a PC, handheld computer, cell phone or some other firm of Web-enabled mini device, would be alerted to goings-on via IM pop-up notes. Moreover, the fact
