Thinergy thrives, but Microsoft stays home
Summary Description Everyone wants a piece of thin-client computing -- unless they're from Redmond.
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Roullas Top10 Simon Vandore

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Story Group 980906
Post Date 03/09/98 07:11 AM Status Posted Entered by Angus Kidman on 03/09/1998 07:11 AM


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Introduction
Microsoft has been conspicuous in its low-key presence at Citrix's inaugural Thinergy 98 conference in Orlando, Florida, this week.

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The focus of the event is on systems requiring multi-user Windows NT or Windows Terminal Server (for which Microsoft licensed Citrix' core technology), but the OS manufacturer's most visible presence is T-shirts advertising NT 5.0.
Major sponsors of the conference include thin-client solutions providers such as IBM and Tech Data.
Although Citrix president Mark Templeton yesterday described Microsoft as "our most strategic partnership", the software giant has a relatively small, understaffed stand on the main floor and has provided just one speaker -- NT Terminal Server Edition product manager, Solveig Whittle -- to the program.
Whittle was upbeat and full of praise for Thinergy, which has attracted more delegates than the inaugural Lotusphere or Netscape conferences, but Whittle and her staff were primarily observers.
Templeton said thin-client/server computing was probably still only worth $US250 million to Microsoft, but admitted he wanted the company to pay it more attention.
"It's not 'Citrix-Microsoft presents Thinergy' because this has not historically been a focus market for them. If it does become a focus market for them, I would hope that they would see us as a strategic partner.
"They're a company to be admired in terms of how they run their business," he said. "They're highly focused on Windows 98 and NT 5.0, merging the two operating systems together and getting Office 2000 out. Those are real big things for them. And this [server-based computing] is a billion dollar total market. If you sort it down, you're probably looking at $250 million of software; there's not a very interesting business in there.
"Next year it will be a lot bigger and it will be more interesting and it probably will receive more focus. And we want them to give it more focus, as a matter of fact, because we think that serves our interest in a growing marketplace."
Simon Vandore travelled to Florida as a guest of Citrix.


Related MaterialsRelated Articles
News: Citrix previews new thin client technologies

News: Citrix walks the thin blue line

News: Citrix and Microsoft: The perils of coopetition

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