NT 5 coming to a PC near you
Leading NC proponents IBM and Sun Microsystems Inc. instead are turning their Java hardware efforts to specialized niche markets.
The two companies will also focus heavily on consumer-oriented Java devices and, with other vendors such as Oracle Corp. and Netscape Communications Corp., on back-end Java solutions for cross-platform application development.
The main reason for the change: High-profile corporate customers, including Federal Express Corp., Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corp. and 1-800 Flowers Inc., have either shelved NC plans or implemented a mixed NC/PC strategy.
The potential for NC success on the corporate desktop has become so remote that IBM has restated its internal goals and projections.
"We've reset our business objectives to what the reality of the market is," said Howie Hunger, director of channels and marketing at IBM, in Somers, N.Y.
Hunger would not say whether IBM has lowered revenue or unit shipment targets for its Network Station NC but said IBM will focus on specialized markets such as retail, travel and transportation, and manufacturing.
IBM will partner with software and hardware companies to offer bundles that meet the needs of customers in those markets. One example: adding support for bar-code scanners to NCs geared toward the retail sector.
That's a blow to the NC movement, since for the first half of 1998 IBM was the leading seller of thin clients, a category that includes Java-based NCs, X terminals and Windows terminals.
Neither International Data Corp. nor IBM could offer a breakdown of how many of IBM's shipments were Java-based units, although IDC estimates that most were not.
Sun, one of the founders of the thin-client movement, shows up in last place in IDC's research with 2.9 percent market share. However, Sun didn't begin shipping its JavaStation until March.
Like IBM, Sun is setting its Java sights primarily on back-end enterprise solutions, consumer and embedded applications, and single-function tasks on the desktop.
"Three short years ago we were desktop-focused, [but] the perception that Java clients would take over the desktop was naive," said Gina Centoni, group manager of Java platforms at Sun's JavaSoft division, in Mountain View, Calif. "NCs are better in single-purpose environments like airline and hotel reservations."
That could be bad news for Lotus Development Corp.'s eSuite, a general-purpose office productivity package for NCs. "They are severely challenged," Centoni said, referring to eSuite and Lotus' ongoing battle against Microsoft Corp.'s Office.
One company that switched its thin-client strategy midstream is Wyse Technology Corp., which abandoned its Java-based NC plans in late 1997 to focus on a more software-independent system. The company plans to announce the system, called the Winterm 5000 Network Terminal, in November.
Wyse's Network Terminal has a local browser that can display any character-based Unix or Windows application. The device does not include a Java virtual machine but can run Java applications from a server. Prices range from $650 to $899.
Hewlett-Packard Co. next week will announce that it has added SNMP capability to its Windows-based terminals, which means they can be managed by its TopTools or OpenView management packages.