Business is war
Power is the ability to ascend over others. Power is represented by the one who has control and who can effect change. Everybody wants some power, but not everyone can have it.
What does it take to gain power? In the network arena, it takes innovation, imagination, ingenuity, vision and, sometimes, a little luck. Even with those attributes, power never comes easy.
This year, those who want power will have to fight harder than ever to get it. Some of the struggles will be personal, such as Larry Ellison fighting with Bill Gates over what the next generation of desktops will look like. Some power struggles will be over technologies, such as battles over remote access wares and directory services. Still other conflicts will involve the acquisition of power, such as the likely vendor purchasing spree that will occur in the Gigabit Ethernet and high-speed router markets.
With those things in mind we present our forecast for the greatest power struggles in the year to come. Who will power to the top or take a power dive?
After two years, the outcome of the most nakedly ferocious power struggle in the industry - between traditional Windows PCs and a new breed of so-called network computers - still is very much in doubt.
In 1997, the remote access market could be summed up in one word - booming. In 1998, we will likely use a different word - brawling.
When Fortune 2000 companies shop for a messaging/groupware backbone, two names - and sometimes only two names - are all but certain to pop up on the short list: Lotus Notes and Microsoft Exchange.
Microsoft Corp.'s Active Directory Service could be both the trump and the wild card in the directory service game in 1998.
In the battle over Internet quality of service, it will be ISP vs. ISP and technology vs. technology.
When it comes to PC servers, Compaq Computer Corp. has its competitors beaten hands down, and that doesn't seem likely to change in 1998.
A handful of router start-ups and industry veterans this year will seek to do what some consider impossible: knock Cisco Systems, Inc. off its hilltop perch.
Vandals are gathering at the doors of the established local telephone companies.
First you got sold on frame relay. Next you lived it. Then you became comfortable with it.
In 1998 there will be a four-way battle among competing virtual private network technologies. But pundits already point to an early favorite, IP Security.
