When I read that Rick Jelliffe will be one of the two representing Australia at the upcoming Ballot Resolution Meeting regarding MSOOXML, after Microsoft hired him to play "Devil's Advocate" with ECMA responses, I couldn't help but recall one of the exhibits in the Comes v. Microsoft litigation, Exhibit 3096 [PDF]. In the section of an internal manual on effective evangelism, written in 1997 by James Plamondon, Technical Evangelist, he lays out an elaborate series of steps to get Microsoft's platforms accepted as de facto standards. Among the steps listed are working behind the scenes with supposedly independent but actually pliable and supportive analysts and consultants.
There is a section on evangelism steps to take to build support, which he calls guerilla marketing, or "The Slog" and and that's the section that includes using supposedly "independent" analysts and consultants: Our mission is to establish Microsoft's platforms as the de facto standards throughout the computer
industry....
Working behind the scenes to orchestrate "independent" praise of our technology, and damnation of the
enemy's, is a key evangelism function during the Slog. "Independent" analyst's report should be issued,
praising your technology and damning the competitors (or ignoring them). "Independent" consultants
should write columns and articles, give conference presentations and moderate stacked panels, all on our
behalf (and setting them up as experts in the new technology, available for just $200/hour). "Independent"
academic sources should be cultivated and quoted (and research money granted). "Independent"
courseware providers should start profiting from their early involvement in our technology. Every possible
source of leverage should be sought and turned to our advantage.
I have mentioned before the "stacked panel". Panel discussions naturally favor alliances of relatively weak
partners - our usual opposition. For example, an "unbiased" panel on OLE vs. OpenDoc would contain
representatives of the backers of OLE (Microsoft) and the backers of OpenDoc (Apple, IBM, Novell,
WordPerfect, OMG, etc.). Thus we find ourselves outnumbered in almost every "naturally occurring"
panel debate.
A stacked panel, on the other hand, is like a stacked deck: it is packed with people who, on the face of
things, should be neutral, but who are in fact strong supporters of our technology. The key to stacking a
panel is being able to choose the moderator. Most conference organizers allow the moderator to select the
panel, so if you can pick the moderator, you win. Since you can't expect representatives of our competitors
to speak on your behalf, you have to get the moderator to agree to having only "independent ISVs" on the
panel. No one from Microsoft or any other formal backer of the competing technologies would be allowed
– just ISVs who have to use this stuff in the "real world." Sounds marvelously independent doesn't it? In
fact, it allows us to stack the panel with ISVs that back our cause. Thus, the "independent" panel ends up
telling the audience that our technology beats the others hands down. Get the press to cover this panel, and
you've got a major win on your hands.
Finding a moderator is key to setting up a stacked panel. The best sources of pliable moderators are:
-- Analysts: Analysts sell out - that's their business model. But they are very concerned that they never
look like they are selling out, so that makes them very prickly to work with.
-- Consultants: These guys are your best bets as moderators. Get a well-known consultant on your side
early, but don't let him publish anything blatantly pro-Microsoft. Then, get him to propose himself to
the conference organizers as a moderator, whenever a panel opportunity comes up. Since he's well-
known, but apparently independent, he'll be accepted – one less thing for the constantly-overworked
conference organizer to worry about, right?
I know. Nauseating. In connection with MSOOXML, you might find FSFE's latest paper, DIS-29500: Deprecated before use?, illuminating. It's available as a PDF also. It examines ECMA's statement that the explicit design goal for ECMA-376 is to preserve idiosyncrasies from Microsoft's proprietary legacy file formats: The preservation of idiosyncrasies is a questionable reason for an international standard. The goal of standardisation is to provide consistency and to remove idiosyncrasies, not to perpetuate them. By aiming to preserve idiosyncrasies, the best achievable outcome is good documentation of incompatibilities. When it became clear that the main purpose of DIS-29500 was the documentation of idiosyncrasies, the process should have stopped. That it did not indicates a lack of internal structures in the fast-track procedures to prevent abuse of the international standardisation system.
Analysis of DIS-29500 by the national standardisation bodies quickly revealed that information to preserve proprietary legacy formats was referenced in the specification, but the specification of these formats was missing. So although the preservation of idiosyncrasies was the declared design goal and the reason for the creation of DIS-29500, this information is missing from the 6000+ page specification.
Microsoft recently deprecated its legacy file formats and as part of its response to criticism in the DIS-29500 process announced to finally make documentation of these formats available under the Open Specification Promise just before the BRM. Although there will not be enough time for analysis of comprehensiveness, quality and fidelity of that documentation for purpose of the BRM, it seems likely that Microsoft will declare this a satisfactory response to the question of missing specification in DIS-29500. It would however be premature for national bodies to accept this assertion in blind faith - in particular as publication will take place outside the ISO scope and is subject to all legal concerns regarding the Open Specification Promise.
Simultaneously, ECMA addresses this in Response 34 of its proposed Disposition of Comments by removing all references to idiosyncrasies from the specification and placing them in a newly formed Annex for deprecated information. With the removal of this information from the DIS-29500, the design goal of MS-OOXML can no longer be met. The entire specification has therefore effectively become obsolete. Here's the entire Microsoft exhibit as text. As always, while we strive for accuracy, go by the PDF for anything that matters. ***************************
PLAINTIFF'S EXHIBIT 3096 Comes v. Microsoft
From: James Plamondon
Sent: Tuesday, January 11,2000 4:32 PM
To: Peter Plamondon
Subject: FW: Windows Evangelism!
[ attachments ]
——Original message——
From: Peter Plamondon
Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2000 2:58 PM
To: Janes Plamondon
Subject: RE: Windows Evangelism!
Please forward those docs to me as well. –Peter
——Original message——
From: James Plamondon
Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2000 2:47 PM
To: Peter Plamondon
Subject: FW: Windows Evangelism!
"DRG is asleep at the wheel"
——Original message——
From: Darryn Dieken
Sent: Thursday, January 06, 2000 12:25 AM
To: James Plamondon
Subject: Re: Windows Evangelism!
Thanks James, I'll be thinking of you sitting on the beach bathing in the sunlight when its dark and rainy here in Seattle.
Drink a pina colada for me :-)
ps. I think it's fair to say that DRG ls asleep at the wheel. They only have one person evangelising Windows technologies
Do you know of anyone else around the company who'd be interested in joining John new team?
——Original message——
From: James Plamondon
Sent: Wednesday, January 05, 2000 5:33 PM
To: Darryn Dieken
cc John Colleran
Subject: Re: Windows Evangelism!
Darryn -
Sounds great! But I'm leaving the company In early March, and indeed will be on vacation until then, starting at the
end of next week. Upon departure from Microsoft. I'm moving my family to Australia, where I will sit on the beach,
drink pina coladas, and laugh at the world.
Here are some documents from the Good Old Days that you might find to be handy in starting this new group. Don't
worry about them leaking; they were already entered into the public record by Bristol Technologies as part of their
private anti-trust case.
> >
Timeline.doc >> > >
Hoping that these will help you keep the flame alive after the old wanhorses like me go out to pasture, I remain
Yours
James
P.S.: There are only FIVE certified Windows 2000 apps? Five? No wonder you're starting your own evangelism
group! Is DRG asleep at the switch, or what?
...and if this article is incorrect, then shame on DRG for having done such a poor job of getting the accurate (and
presumably higher) numbers out there! .
——Original message——
From: Darryn Dieken
Sent: Wednesday, January 05, 2000 11:51 AM
To: James Plamondon
Cc: John Colleran
Subject: Windows Evangelism!
Hey James,
Long time no see - hope you're doing well and enjoying you're sabatical in MSR :-) JohnC is starting a new
Windows evangelism team under Brian V and I thought you may be interested. The group is still being formed so
there's a lot of opportunity for an uber-evangelist like yourself!!! I thought you may be interested – let John know if
want learn more about his new team.
-Darryn
MS-PCA 1913142
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Effective Evangelism
James Plamondon, Technical Evangelist
Evangelism Is War
Our mission is to establish Microsoft's platforms as the de facto standards throughout the computer
industry. Our enemies are the vendors of platforms that compete with ours: Netscape, Sun, IBM, Oracle,
Lotus, etc. The field of battle is the software industry. Success is measured in shipping applications. Every
line of code that is written to our standards is a small victory; every line of code that is written to any other
standard, is a small defeat. Total victory, for DRG, is the universal adoption of our standards by developers,
as this is an important step towards total victory for Microsoft itself: "A computer on every desk and in
every home, running Microsoft software."
Our weapons are psychological, economic, and political–not military. No one is forced to adopt our
standards at the barrel of a gun. We can only convince, not compel. Those who adopt our standards do so
as a rational decision to serve their own ends, whatever those may be. It is our job to ensure that those
choosing an operating system are presented with an overwhelming abundance of evidence and reasoned
argument in favor of our standards–so overwhelming that the choice of our standards seems obvious, or
(ideally) that the developer is not even aware that a decision was faced, and a choice made.
We do this by understanding the barriers that might otherwise prevent the developer from adopting our
standards, and removing them; by understanding the inducements that might facilitate the developer's
adoption of our standards, and providing them; by understanding the arguments of our competition, and
countering them.
Our Mission
The Charter of Microsoft's Developer Relations Group is clear:
Drive the success of Microsoft's platforms by creating a critical mass of third-party software
applications and business solutions.
This mission statement contains both the goal which we are striving to achieve (the success of Microsoft's
platforms) as well as the means by which we are to achieve it (by creating a critical mass of third-party software
applications and business solutions). Let us examine it carefully.
Platforms
What is a platform? A platform is any software service which an ISV's code assumes is present in order for
it to function properly. For example, Windows is a platform, because ISVs can write code that assumes the
presence ofthe Windows DLLs, and which will not function properly in their absence.
What are Microsoft's platforms? Once, the answer was simple: Windows (and before that, DOS). Now,
Microsoft has many platforms, and the answer is more complicated. Windows is still one of Microsoft's
platforms. New platforms include Microsoft Office, Microsoft Back Office, Microsoft Exchange, The
Microsoft Network, Microsoft Internet Explorer, DevOffice, and ActiveX. For each of these, ISVs can (or
will be able to) write code that assumes the platform's presence.
Turning a product into a platform perpetuates and broadens the success ofthe product. This is because
writing code to support even one platform is hard; writing code to support multiple, alternative platforms is
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exponentially more difficult. This leads developers to choose between alternative platforms, and (ideally)
choose one over all others. This choice, once made, is not easily changed; code written to one platform is
only re-written to another with difficulty. In effect, once a developer chooses a platform, the developer is
"locked in" to that platform.
Critical Mass
"Critical mass" is a term borrowed from nuclear physics, in which it means "a sufficient mass of fissionable
material to sustain a chain reaction," in which a chain reaction is defined to be "a self-sustaining nuclear
reaction yielding energy that causes further reactions of the same kind."
"Self-sustaining" is the key phrase in this definition. Once started, the nuclear reaction naturally reinvests
its energy in perpetuating and growing the reaction. Once the point of criticality is reached, no additional
external energy or intervention is required to maintain the reaction.
So it is with evangelism. Once a platform has reached a certain degree of support in the industry, it
becomes self-perpetuating (for reasons discussed below). Once this "critical mass" of support for a given
platform has been achieved, new applications will tend to support it too, even in the absence of further
evangelism.
Note that were are concerned with the "mass" of support by. Both the number and the importance of
applications supporting a platform contribute to the overall mass of the platform's support.
Mass in motion gives momentum, which can be defined as the amount of effort required over a given time
to stop a body in motion. A sufficient mass of applications delivering support for a platform over a
sufficiently short time, gives the platform sufficient momentum that it is, for all practical purposes,
unstoppable.1
Current economic theory2 suggests that the emergence of a dominant standard from a number of competing
alternatives, is the result of "random events." It is our job to ensure that there's nothing random about it:
we create the platform momentum that ensures Microsoft's victory.
Third-Party Applications and Business Solutions
Platforms, by themselves, are of little or no value to end users. Their value is derived from the applications
and business solutions which take advantage of the platforms' services in order to deliver real value to the
customer. If we wish our platforms to be succesful, we must ensure that our platforms are used by the
applications and busines solutions that customers want.
Third-party applications3 and business solutions are the measurement of the success of evangelism. The
greater the mass of shipping applications that support our platforms, the more sucsessful we have been.
The art of evangelism is concerned with increasing the mass of applications and business solutions that
support our platforms, to the point of criticality.
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Our Enemies
Some have claimed that Microsoft has a monopoly on the market for operating systems designed for
personal computers. This is patently untrue. IBM's OS/2, Apple's MacOS, Novell's Unix and Netware,
Taligent's CommonPoint, Netscape's Navigator, and other operating systems (or embryonic operating
systems), all compete with Windows in the struggle for applications and business solutions. This is true for
our other platforms as well (Exchange/Notes, OLE/OpenDoc, Office/SmartSuite, etc.).
Nor is this a static list. The computer industry is very dynamic; we in evangelism must be even more
dynamic – constantly searching for new allies, enemies, and strategies.
It is beyond the scope of this paper to expound on the strengths and weaknesses of each of our competitors.
There are many other sources of such information. Use them!
The Field of Battle
The software industry is the field on which evangelists do battle. The industry has its own trade press, book
publishers, developer SIGs, conferences, trade shows, training organizations, retailers, wholesalers, and
distributors. It has its own culture. Understanding the terrain of the industry is essential to effective
evangelism.
It is not effective to publish an article about Mac OLE in a Unix magazine, or to give a talk on Win32's
memory-mapped file I/O at a conference attended by executives. To be effective, the right tools and
messages must be delivered to the right place, at the right time.
Some ISVs and their applications are more important to the success of a platform than others. They are the
high ground of the battlefield. Gaining the support of a major ISV is like taking a hill; from there, you
command the battlefield below. The same can be said for the trade magazines, conferences, developer
SIGs, etc.. You cannot control the field of battle if the high ground is in the hands ofthe enemy.
The Measure of Success
The success of evangelism is measured in the mass of shipping applications that support Microsoft's
platforms. Those applications that support a given platform, move it closer to critical mass, and thus count
as successes; those that support a competing platform, move it away from critical mass, and thus count as
defeats.
Microsoft has many platforms, and what appears to be a victory for one Microsoft platform may appear to
be a defeat for another. If OLE is sucessful on the Macintosh (making Macintosh applications more
powerful), is that a victory for OLE, or a defeat for Windows? If the Windows API is sucessful on Unix
(making Unix applications less expensive to develop), is that a victory for the Win32 API or a defeat for
Windows NT?
Diversionary tactics, holding action, and retreats may each seem contrary to the achievement of the overall
objective when considered solely in their own terms, but taken in light of the overall conflict, may
contribute to overall success. In the Chinese Civil War that followed World War II, Mao Tse Tung's Army
ran away from every battle, until they won the war. They knew that overall victory, not local victory, was
the objective.
Thus it is imperative to measure each action in accordance with its contribution to overall, not just local,
victory.
Victory
"A computer on every desk and in every home, running Microsoft software." This is the mission statement
of Microsoft itself; it is the definition of the conditions under which Microsoft itself can declare overall
victory.
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Definition of Evangelism at Microsoft
"Evangelism is the art and science of getting developers to ship products that support Microsoft's
platforms."
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Effective Evangelism
James Plamondon Technical Evangelist
Microsoft Developer Relations Group
1
Mission Statement
"Drive the success of Microsoft's platforms
by creating a critical mass of third-party software
applications and business solutions."
2
"We're Just Here to Help Developers"
3
"We're NOT Just Here to Help Developers"
4
"We're Here to Help MICROSOFT"
5
Evangelism is WAR!"
- Mission
- Establish Microsoft's platform as de facto standards
- Enemies
- Battlefield
- Progress
- Shipping ISV applications
6
Role of ISVs
- ISVs are just pawns in the struggle
- But have you ever tried to win a chess game without any pawns?
- We need the support of ISVs to win
- We must earn
the support of ISVs, by
- Shipping technologies worthy of support
- Helping ISVs implement and market their support for our
technologies
- We work hard to help our ISVs succeed!
7
So, We're Just Here to Help
Developers, Right?
8
We're here to help MICROSOFT®!
- MICROSOFT pays our wages
- MICROSOFT provides our stock options
- MICROSOFT pays our expenses
- We're here to help MICROSOFT
- By helping those developers ...
- ...That can best help MICROSOFT ...
- ...Achieve MICROSOFT's objectives
- Did anyone miss the point, here?
9
So, How Do We Accomplish
This Mission?
10
Mission Statement
"Drive the success of Microsoft's platforms
by creating a critical mass of third-party software
applications and business solutions."
11
Mission Statement
"Drive the success of Microsoft's
platforms
by creating a critical mass of third-party software
applications
and business solutions."
12
Mission Statement
"Drive the success of Microsoft's
platforms
by creating a critical mass of third-party software
applications and business solutions."
13
What is a "Platform"?
- Software service required by an ISV's app
- Windows, OS/2, MacOS
- OLE, OpenDoc, CORBA,[D]SOM
- Exchange, Notes
- Office, SmartSuite, PerfectOffice
- BackOffice, Oracle, AS/00 apps
- Java, Navigator, the Web ...ActiveX
14
Platform Example: Win32
- Win32 on Windows
- Windows NT, Windows 32s, Windows 95
- Win32 API on Unix
- Sun, WABI
- Bristol, MainSoft
- Win32 API on Mac
- Result: Win32 is the universal API
15
Mission Statement
"Drive the success of Microsoft's platforms
by creating a
critical mass of third-party software
applications and business solutions."
16
Critical Mass
- "A sufficient mass of fissionable material
to sustain a chain reaction"
- Chain reaction
- "A self-sustaining nuclear reaction yielding energy that
that causes further reactions of the same kind."
- Result
- Physics: Nuclear explosion
- Evangelism: De facto standard
17
Nukes 'R Us
- We create chain reactions
- Fissionable matetial: Shipping Apps
- Other Components
- Timers, plastique, casing, delivery systems
- Sample code, white papers, presentations, books, articles,
meetings, press releases
- Blow the competition away
18
Self-Sustaining
- Platform is
- Expected by reviewers
- Supported by tools, books, consultants, trainers
- "--yeilding energy that causes further reactions of the
same kind."
- It's evangelizing itself
- So Microsoft can stop evangelizing it
- Victory!
19
Mission Statement
"Drive the success of Microsoft's platforms
by creating a
critical mass of third-party software
applications and business solutions."
20
Third-Parties
- Not Microsoft or its competitors
- Not our customers
- Other software vendors
21
Why Not Do It All Ourselves?
- Because we can't
- There's just too much to be done
- Because they won't let us
- Because third-parties are more efficient
- In their respective markets
22
Enlightened Self-Interest
- We help ISV to help ourselves
- But we really do help them
- We fight for our ISV's
- APIs, hooks, tool support
- Design Reviews
- Strategies, timelines, etc.
- ... because we need their support for our own ends
23
Too Many to Help
- Can't help 'em all
- We help those who can help us
- If they can't or won't help us
- Screw'em!
- Help their competitors instead
24
Summary
- We're here to help Microsoft...
- ...By helping those ISVs...
- ...That can help Microsoft...
- ...Achieve its objectives.
25
Strategy
Or, How to Kick Ass Without Breaking a Sweat
26
Strategy
- "To win one hundred battles is not perfection; to subdue the
enemy without fighting is perfection."
Sun-Tzu: The Art Of War, written in China by Sun Wu in roughly 490 BC.
27
Strategy of Sun Tzu
- "Thus, the best military strategy is to attack the enemy's plans.
- Next best is to disrupt his alliances.
- The next best is to crush his army.
- The worst policy is to attack his fortified cities.
Attack cities only when there is no alternative."
28
Attack the Enemy's Plans
- Do not attack directly
- No debates, no white papers, no lawsuits
- Do the unexpected; attack his assumptions
29
Example: Win32 API on Unix
- Sun's plan
- Implement Win32 on Unix (WABI)
- Unix would run Windows software
- Assumption: MS would try to block WABI through legal action
- Microsoft's response:
- Put Win32 on Unix ourselves
- Through Bristol, Mainsoft, Locus, etc.
- They pay us a fee and a royalty
- Don't sue, compete!
30
Crush The Enemy's Army
- Head-to-head evangelism
- White paper wars
- Panel debates
- Technology duels
- Both sides lose
- Credibility
- Opportunity cost
- Avoid this strategy!
31
Example: OLE vs. OpenDoc The Old Strategy
- Direct competition on tech details
- Press, pundits LOVE this!
- ISVs are confused, so they do nothing
- "I'll wait to see who wins"
- OpenDoc's FUD worked
- Complete disaster
- Delayed the widespread adoption of OLE
32
Disrupt The Enemy's Alliances
- Alliances are weak
- Circumstances change over time
- Technology, personnel, regulation, mergers
- Once-mutual interests, diverge
- Each ally schemes for advantage
- And to minimize its costs
33
Example: OLE vs. OpenDoc The New Strategy
- Allies
- Strategy
- Tactics
- Reposition OpenDoc as an OLE dev. tool
- Put OLE in the enterprise
- Pits Apple against IBM & Novell
- Help Claris & WP support OLE in Win95
- pits part of an ally against itself
34
Attack The Enemy's Fortified Cities
- Big ISVs that compete with Microsoft
- They hate us
- and there's nothing we can do about it
- Don't throw yourself against their walls
- Help their competitors instead
- Let them attack the cities for us
- They'll be grateful for our help (for a little while...)
35
Victory Conditions
- You win when the enemy quits
- What will cause the enemy to quit?
- Lack of support
- Public humiliation
- Low return on investment
- Nothing
- Don't start fighting, until you can identify when you've won
36
All Is Not Fair
- We are under close scrutiny
- Any unethical acts WILL BE uncovered!
- Besides — we're the good guys!
- Simple rule to live by: Never Lie
- Tell the truth, and nothing but the truth
- Be selective in which truths you emphasize
- Let the competition fill in the gaps
37
Next Time
- Power Evangelism
- Definition of Power in Evangelism.
Resource exchange.
Gaining power. Using power. Getting things done.
Leverage.
Influence. Mind Control. Tactics.
38
Generalized Evangelism Timeline
- Evangelism starts. Goals, strategy & tactics, ISVs,
and influencers, are defined. Verify that spec & demos are nearing stability.
Verify PSS & dev team commitment to support ISVs in DevLab. Identify
target ISVs, and the potential carrots & sticks that you can use to
motivate them. Think about development tool issues (most other ISVs
will need tools to implement support for your technology; what
products are critical? Target them first.)
- DR Prep.Preparations for a Design Review (DR) begin. Line
up speakers, logistics, invitations, skeleton press release,
"showcase" ISVs, etc.
- Host DR. Upon availability of (a) a spec (S1) and/or (b)
first internal build stable enough to demo, host the targeted ISVs
at a Design Review. Goals: (i) verify that the technology is useful
to ISVs,(ii)get ISVs emotionally involved in the technology, (iii)
generate positive press regarding the technology.
- Limited Developers' Release. Technology & specification
reach sufficient stability (A1) to be released to the targeted
developers. (Stages 3 & 4 are often collapsed together, such that the
first stable release is given to the Design Review attendees.) This is not a general beta release.
- Jihad At (or soon after) the Design Review, send ISVs the
details of the [Technology Name] FirstWave Program, including the
Letter of Agreement, for their review. Within a few days, visit
each targeted ISV in person, to close their participation in the
FirstWave Program.
- FirstWave Program. Host the targeted ISVs in a series
of visits (rarely more than three) in the DevLab, focused on
producing versions of their apps that demonstrate the ISV's support
for [Technology Name], Monitor progress of co-marketing benefits.
Monitor progress of ISVs towards successful demonstration; send
details up the management chain. Consolidate ISV feedback, bug fix
requests, etc., and generally represent the ISVs to the
technology product team. Ensure that adequate sample code and
documentation is being produced. Line up courseware, books (MS Press
and third party), articles, conference sessions, stacked panel
discussions, seminars, maganzine articles, defections from the
competition, rifts in alliances, etc.
- Beta Release Upon the wide release of a stable beta of
the technology to large numbers of developers (e.g. via MSDN or
the Web), host an event for ISVs, press, analysts, allies and
competitors, at which the targeted ISVs demonstrate their apps'
support of the technology, as produced in the DevLab.
- The Slog. Work with early adopters to help get their
products ready to ship. Represent the ISVs at bug-prioritizing meetings.
Speak with press, analysts, ISVs, allies, and competitors.
Broaden evangelism efforts through the involvement of MSDN's
manifold resources. Execute the tactics ar previously determined,
with minor modifications on the fly: this is the battle phase,
win or lose.
- Final Release. Technology is released in final form.
Big event for press, analysts, ISVs, allies, competitors, etc.,
showing momentum – early adopters demo apps (which are
hopefully at or near final themselves), plus demos of other cool
apps that turned up during the Slog. The Slog may continue for
some time.
- Critical Mass. The technology is recognized as
de facto standard, and the vast majority of developers
incorporate it into their future plans. Some influencers may actually
increase their support for competing technologies, but it's too
late -- critical mass has been achieved, and they are at
Ground Zero.
- Mopping Up. During the mopping-up phase, ensure that the
enemy technology is routed. Use the press, the Internet, etc. to
heighten the impression that the enemy is desperate, demoralized,
defeated, depressed. Usually, this phase (or even Phase 8, the Slog)
overlaps phases 1-3 of the next version of [Technology Name], which
addresses all of the advantages of the competitors' technology,
while addressing [Technology Name]'s key weaknesses. Repeat phases
1-10 as necessary /e.g. Windows NT 3.1 through 4.0; OLE 1.0 through
COM+; Windows 1.0 through Windows 3.1).
- Victory. The developers, marketers, and managers of
the competing technology give up the sinking ship, and interview
for positions at Microsoft.
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Generalized Evangelism Timeline
James Plamondon
Technical Evangelist
Microsoft Developer Relations Group
October 9, 1997
Details
1: Evangelism Starts
Work closely with the technology development team, to ensure that they are developing the right
technology, the right way. The right technology is that which will make money for Microsoft, or prevent
Microsoft from losing money, whether directly or indirectly. The right way to develop technology is with a
clear vision of how the technology is going to meet that objective – with a clear, concise focus on what
actions need to be taken – by whom, when, how, and for what reason – in order to achieve that objective.
One factor – but by no means the only factor – in verifying that the technology being developed is the right
one, is ensuring that the technology meets the needs of any ISVs that we will need to have support it. If the
technology can succeed without third-party support, then this is not a consideration, and Evangelism will be
relatively uninvolved in the process. On the other hand, if ISV support is a key factor in the success of the
technology, then Evangelism's role will be critical.
Well before there is a detailed spec, decide (with the technology team) which ISVs' support is (a) most
critical to the success of the technology, and (b) most easily gained, for whatever reasons. Under NDA,
and with the support of the technology team, discuss the technology informally with a small number (four,
plus or minus two) of these critical ISVs, to get a "reality check" on ISV reactions to the technology. Make
sure that the feedback from these ISVs is either incorporated into the spec, or discarded with good reason.
If the feedback is discarded, formulate compelling Q&A explaining the reasons for discarding it. Run the
results past your small number of ISVs, to verify that it is compelling. If not, rethink the discarded
feedback. If the overall feedback is negative, rethink development of the technology.
Now, you are prepared to define the evangelism plan. First, define the goal of the technology. This is
usually quite simple: to become the de facto industry standard mechanism for [accomplishing some task],
To achieve this overall goal, one must achieve a number of specific, measurable objectives along the way.
Some examples of objectives might be
- Having n tool vendors commit to shipping support for [technology name] in their tools by [some
specific date]
- Having m ISVs demonstrate support for [technology name] in beta versions of their apps at [some
specific venue]
- Having y books on [technology name] be available by [date], to help developers implement support for
[technology name] in their applications
Presuming that ISV support is important to the success of the technology, then there usually exists an
essentially infinite number of ISVs that could support the technology. However, Evangelism usually lacks
the resources necessary to work closely with all of these ISVs. Further, some of these ISVs will contribute
much more to the success or failure of the technology than others. Therefore, Evangelism usually must
select a subset of ISVs to work with, out of the complete set of ISVs with whom it could work.
Those ISVs should be selected for evangelism, which will deliver the most benefit for the least amount of
work. Some will be selected because they are easy wins – a company that has expressly and joyfully tied
its success very closely to our own, or a company which is run by an ex-Softie who misses working with
Microsoft. Some will be selected because they are the most influential, either in terms of market share or
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mind share. (Mind share denotes the extent to which a product is discussed; market share denotes the
extent to which a product is used.)
The ISVs targeted for evangelism should be categorized into four tiers:
- Tier A: The most influential ISVs, in terms of market share or mind share. These will usually be
obvious, but always do some research anyway to make sure that you're not overlooking anyone,
- Tier B: Less influential ISVs, who might be worth evangelizing anyway – perhaps because they are
a) Easy wins
b) Generally assumed to be in the enemy camp, such that their supporting your technology would be
a shock (and, hopefully cause a rift in the enemy camp)
c) Utterly worthless evangelically, but you can lead the enemy to waste a lot of resources
evangelizing them, if the enemy knows that "Microsoft cares a lot" about them.
- Tier C: ISVs utterly lacking in influence, but whom you might speak to about the technology, if you
can reach them in a one-to-many fashion – perhaps while you're visiting Tier A accounts in their city.
- Tier Z: ISVs that should never know that you exist, lest they send you email, call you, or otherwise
waste your time.
For some technologies, Independent Content Providers (ICPs) will be more relevant than Independent
Software Providers (ISVs). For some, you may have to involve hardware vendors, advertising agencies, or
other providers of evangelical leverage. I use "ISV" in this paper to generally denote all of these kinds of
evangelism targets; make whatever substitutions are necessary for your specific technology, service, or
whatever.
In addition to identifying and categorizing the relevant ISVs, Evangelism should also identify and
categorize other industry influencers during this first phase of evangelism. There are three categories of
industry influencers:
- Providers of evangelical infrastructure: The authors of technical books, courseware designers and
instructors, authors of technical articles, conference organizers, software consultants and contract
development houses – Evangelism needs to involve all of these folks at various stages of an
evangelism campaign, to make sure that ISVs and individual developers have the information they
need to (a) decide to support the technology, and to (b) implement the technology in their application.
- The Press: Almost every evangelism campaign involves working with the press, either directly or
through a PR agency. Our evangelism plan should identify the specific members of the press that you
will target for technical evangelism (as distinct from the usual, non-technical PR treatment).
- Analysts: Analysts are people who are paid to take a stand, while always trying to appear to be
disinterested observers (since the appearance of independence maximizes the price they can charge for
selling out). Treat them as you would treat nuclear weapons – as an important part of your arsenal,
which you want to keep out of the hands of the enemy.
Bribe Hire them to produce "studies" that
"prove" that your technology is superior to the enemy's, and that it is gaining momentum faster.
Having identified the objectives sought, the ISVs whose support is necessary to achieve that support, and
the specific carrots and sticks that you are going to use to gain their support, you are prepared to document
your proposed plan in an Evangelism Plan. A sample Evangelism Plan can be found at the end of this
document 1
After the completion of the Plan, you are ready to prepare for the presentation of the technology to a group
of ISVs: the Design Review,
2: Design Review Preparation
A Design Review is a gathering of evangelism targets, usually on campus, to whom Microsoft presents an
early version of the technology. The goals of a Design Review are four-fold:
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1 Thanks to Peter Plamondon.
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- To verify that the technology is genuinely useful to ISVs, without any glaring weaknesses that will
prevent its being used in the intended manner – and to gather any suggestions that might improve it
- To make the attendees feel honored, respected, and involved, such that they become emotionally
attached to the technology, and are therefore more likely to support it in their products
- To act as a forcing-function for the technology team, by requiring them to produce clear descriptions,
demos, and specs.
- To generate positive press regarding the technology
To ensure that these objectives are accomplished at the Design Review, Evangelism must prepare
extensively before the DR takes place. A date must be selected, to which the technology team will commit.
Meeting room space must be reserved (usually in Building 12, or at a nearby hotel's conference center) and
other logistics (meals, handouts, etc) arranged. A draft press release must be approved, pending final
quotes from the attendees (gathered at the end of the DR). Speakers must be arranged, their slides
reviewed, their demos tested, etc. – and the evangelist owns the whole shebang. The evangelist doesn't
have to do it all, and indeed should do as little of it as possible. But the evangelist has to ensure that it all gets done properly, and on time.
Before the DR, various steps can be taken behind the scenes to ensure that the result is positive. Many of
these steps are right out of books such as "What They Don't Teach You At The Harward Busines School,"
or manuals on winning at office politics, or the like. For example, you should always know what your
ISVs are going to say at the DR, before the DR, so that you don't get any rude surprises It is best
(although not always possible) for the evangelist to meet personally with each DR attendee before the
DR – perhaps hand-delivering the spec to be discussed at the DR. At this pre-DR meeting,
the evangelist can go over the spec at a fairly high-level, and get a feel for what the ISV is likely to
say or do at the DR.
If the ISV's comments are likely to be positive, then the ISV can be encouraged to speak up at the DR, and the speakers can be encouraged to call on that attendee. If the ISV's comments are likely to be negative, the evangelist can try to have them addressed before the DR. They could be addressed, for example, by revising the spec – or perhaps by lining up other ISVs to oppose the negative comments at the DR (so that Microsoft is seen to be bowing to the will of other ISVs, rather than ramming its spec down the negative ISV's throat).
Also, you may want to work closely with one or two "showcase" ISVs, to get them to demo support for the
technology at the DR itself. This is risky. On the one hand, it shows that the technology really works, can
be implemented relatively quickly, and already has momentum – perhaps instilling fear in the other
attendees of being "left behind" if they don't catch up quickly with the "showcases." On the other hand, it
will irritate the ISVs that were not chosen to be "showcases;" they will feel slighted.
Invitations to DR's should be personalized, and sent out via email three weeks in advance, plus or minus a
week or so. (Microsoft Word has a great mail-merge to email feature.) Any less warning and ISVs will
have prior commitments. Also, our expcting developers to drop everything to come to us in very short
notice, reinforces the notion that Microsoft is arrogant and demanding, among exactly the group that we
most want to have thinking of us as being helpful and responsive. It is very insulting to ask someone to
come out on less than two weeks' notice.
Invitations should go out to a friendly subset of Tier A ISVs and to providers of evangelical infrastructure (see above). Press should rarely be invited. Analysts should only be invited if they are already bought and paid for. PSS should send the staff that they have wisely assigned to cover this emerging technology.
3: Host the Design Review
The goals of a Design Review are described above. Design Reviews are relatively informal by nature – no
one wants or expects Robert's Rules of Order to be followed. However, the presenters should be properly
prepared, the demos should not crash (too often), the food should be good (and in the right quantity), etc.
The Evangelist should host the Design Review. The responsibilities of the host include
-- Greeting ISVs as they arrive, and encouraging other evangelists to greet their accounts, too
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-- Making sure that the guests' random problems (rental car trouble, flight change issues, ripped pant
seats, sudden illnesses, etc,) are dealt with promptly and with discretion
-- Introducing each speaker, and making sure that each speaker sticks to the schedule
-- Assisting with Q&A
-- Schmoozing like mad during breaks – gathering feedback from as many attendees as possible, and
pointing attendees with tough questions or great suggestions at the appropriate speakers
-- Making sure that the speakers stick around for the breaks, meals, and evening events (if any)
-- Gather written, confirmed quotes from the ISVs for use in a post-DR press release (if any)
-- Generally doing anything else necessary (within the bounds of reason and taste) to ensure that the
attendees get the information they need, give us the feedback that we need, and have a great time.
Design Reviews should be chock-full of juicy technical information, with a smattering of market
opportunity analysis and business tips. While many hardcore technoids would rather read a spec than a
novel, this is not universally true, so Design Reviews should provide some non-technical fun, too. If the DR runs for two days, have a booze-n-schmooze event at some fun location on the middle evening.
Most of all, the attendees should be constantly treated with respect. Each attendee should leave the event
feeling that Microsoft really listened to what that attendee had to say.
Usually, an ISV will see that its competitors are also attending the DR. This is a good thing. When an ISV
sees its competitors in the room, the ISV gets nervous that maybe its competitors are already ahead. Try to
schmooze with ISVs within eyesight of their competitors. Every laugh and handshake you share with an
ISV's competitor will strengthen the ISV's resolve to regain the lead.
Let the technology team spend their time explaining how the technology works. Spend your time listening
to the ISVs explain what they think of the technology, and why. Take good notes, write them up with
conclusions and recommendations, and forward them to the technology team.
Be sure that each attendee receives the message clearly and unambiguously: We need, want, and appreciate
their support for this new technology.
4: Limited Developer's Release
After the design review – sometimes, at the design review itself – the technology will be sufficiently stable to release to a small group of developers, under NDA. The design review attendees should be the first to get this release, although others may also get it. The goals of this release are
-- To generate feedback to the technology team on bugs, feature requests, documentation issues, and
architectural issues that need to be addressed before the beta can go out to a wider beta group
-- To help bring PSS personnel up to speed on supporting the technology
-- To give book authors, consultants, contract houses, sample code writers, etc, something to get started
with, so that they will be prepared to produce the necessary infrastructure when the technology goes
into wider, non-NDA beta.
-- To help Microsoft understand the strengths and weaknesses of our technology vs. that of any
competitors, such that we can prepare technical, marketing, and business-development responses
To support the argument that Microsoft is "open," given that Microsoft's internal product groups are
almost certainly getting drops of the technology by this time.
Starting with the Limited Developer's Release, Evangelism should be sitting in on all PM and bug-prioritization meetings, prepared to present data that supports the adjustment of bug priorities and feature implementation order, based on ISV feedback.
Similarly, starting in this phase, Evangelism needs to be constantly monitoring the status of books,
courseware, sample code, seminars, conference presentations, stacked panel discussions, and other
elements of the evangelical infrastructure, to ensure that they are progressing towards availability at the
time of general, non-NDA beta.
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The Limited Developers Release needs to be made available on a secure web server to which only
participating ISVs have access, The server needs to be updated with new drops of the technology
whenever they become sufficiently stable. Other means of electronic communication - private
newsgroups/forums, list servers, bug & feature submission mechanisms, etc. – should be set up for use at
this time, with an eye towards their scaling up as the number of beta sites increases over time.
The Early Adopters (or FirstWave) program for the technology is finalized during this period (initial
carrots and sticks having been proposed in the very first evangelism phase). A FirstWave program offers
specific Tier A ISVs the opportunity to get specific technical and marketing benefits in return for their
commitment to delivering support for the technology in applications by a time. All elements of the
program are laid out very specifically in a written document- a Memorandum of Understanding, also known
as a Letter of Agreement or LOA. The LOA must be signed by an Officer of the ISV - a Director, VP, CEO, or
President - to ensure that the commitment is taken seriously by the ISV. If a PM signs it, the ISV can
always claim later that the PM didn't have the authority to do so. Similarly, the LOA needs to be signed by
Microsoft's Director of Evangelism. LOA's are not legal, binding contracts, and thus give each party
wiggle room. They need to be positioned as clarifying documents, that ensure that there are no
misunderstandings as to what was being agreed upon, and by whom. We can't enforce an LOA, but we can
certainly remember who has honored them, and who has not.
An alternative to an LOA is a legally binding contract. For most ISVs – with whom Microsoft has a long-standing relationship – a legally binding contract is overkill. For some ISVs – with whom our relationship
may have been equally long, but somewhat more tempestuous – a legal contract may be required. There
are other reasons why you might want to have a legal contract, but there's one big reason why you don't
want to do so: because then you're going to have to deal not only with Microsoft Legal, but with every
other company's legal departments, too. This will not be fun, and it will consume vast quantities of time
that could be better spent on evangelism rather than legal wrangling.
A sample LOA can be found at the end of this document
2
It is imperative that Evangelism work closely with the marketing side of DRG in hammering out what
marketing incentives can and cannot be promised to ISVs in the LOA. It's their budget, their marketing
resources and their time that we're promising. The Marketing folks have a lot of experience in this area,
and can be counted on to help come up with ideas and implementations that will work for everyone.
5: Jihad
A Jihad is a road trip. in which an evangelist visits a large number of ISVs one-on-one to convince them to
take some specific action. The classic Jihad is one focused on getting Tier A ISVs to commit to supporting
a given technology by signing the technology's Letter of Agreement (LOA - see above).
A Jihad focuses on the Travelling Salesman aspect of evangelism. As in sales, the purpose of the exercise
is to close – to get the mark the ISV to sign on the dotted line, in pen, irrevocably. Not to get back to us
later, not to talk to the wife about it, not to enter a three-day cooling-off period, but to get the ISV to sign,
sign, sign.
If the start of the meeting is the first time the ISV has seen the LOA, then he's not going to sign it at the
end of the meeting. Since we're asking for a very serious commitment, we want the ISV to give their
signing serious consideration. If the ISV cannot deliver, then his committing to deliver is worse than
useless – the ISV's participation may occupy one of a limited number of available slots, keeping some
other ISV from participating.
To maximize the chance of getting the ISV to sign during the Jihad visit, make sure that
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Thanks to Will Gregg.
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-- The ISV has seen the LOA at least a week before the Jihad visit
-- The LOA is very clear about what exactly each side is promising to deliver, and when
-- An Officer of the ISV's corporation will be attending the meeting
-- Microsoft's Director of DRG has positioned the LOA with sufficient seriousness, in a cover letter or
other communication in advance of the meeting
-- You make it clear from the start that the purpose of your visit is to answer any questions that they
might have, preparatory to signing the LOA while you're there
-- They understand that those who do not sign the LOA, are frozen out of all further information about
the techology until it goes into public beta
-- They understand (without being crude about it) that you will be making the same offer to their
competitors
-- You have T-shirts or other swag to give to those who sign. lt's amazing what some people will do for
a T-shirt.
There are a million tips and tricks to effective road trips, and to being a Road Warrior in general, all of
which is beyond the scope of this discussion.
6: FirstWave Program
For the duration of the FirstWave Program, the key evangelism task is bringing the participants'
applications' support of the technology to a demonstrable state. This usually requires
-- A series of gatherings of the ISVs' key developers in the DevLab, at which the ISVs work on their
code with the assistance of PSS and the technology dev team
-- Support from PSS, which helps them get trained for the higher volume of calls that they'll get when
the technology enters public beta
-- Tracking the progress of each ISV's demo application(s) – ideally, on an internal web page - and
consolidating the results into regular reports for management (also ideally on an internal web page)
-- Orchestrating regular drops of the technology to the ISVs (via a secure web site)
-- Planning and starting to execute on the co-marketing benefits promised in the LOA
-- Ensuring that bug fix and feature requests from ISVs are prioritized appropriately by the technology
team
-- Driving and monitoring the development of the evangelical infrastructure (books, courseware,
conference sessions, consultants, whitepapers, stacked panels, etc.)
-- Laying the groundwork for the technology to be supported by MSDN's one-to-many programs
-- Broadening exposure to the technology, within larger ISVs, beyond the targeted demo app to other
product teams (be aware of the ISV's internal politics here!)
-- Planning and driving the event at which the ISVs' demos will be presented to key industry influencers
(press, analysts, ISVs, allies, and competitors).
The launch event should be timed to coincide with the availability of the technology's wide public beta,
described below. This timing magnifies the effect of the event: events generate press. Developers read the
press and learn that they can download the technology from a given URL – a specific action that they can
take right now, which will help them start implementing the technology in their own applications right
away, while it's still fresh in their minds (from the press coverage).
7: Public Beta Release
This is the first beta release for which an NDA is not required. Through the Web and MSDN, such releases
can reach millions of developers – far more than Evangelism can possibly work with. At this point, the
one-to-many programs must kick in, or Evangelism will be completely swamped and randomized.
The wide beta release is a newsworthy event, and it must be milk for all it's worth, because you won't get
another such news opportunity until the final version ships. Gather the key industry influencers together at an event – either a stand-alone event, or an event that leverages some larger industry event – and hit'em
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with both barrels, grenades, atomic weapons, and the kitchen sink. Hold nothing back - do everything you
can to overwhelm them with how complete, compelling, and inevitable the technology is. Show end-user
benefits, developer benefits, the business case, the steak, the sizzle, and everything else - all in a short, punchy, psychologically devastating event. Ideally, everyone attending that event should walk away
convinced that the game's over - Microsoft has already won. Have PR work with the press and analysts at
and immediately after the launch event, to ensure that the event's coverage is as positive as possible.
Upon the release of the public beta, Evangelism's job changes. It still needs to shepherd the Tier A apps
from demo to delivery, but Evangelism also needs to shift gears, to guerilla marketing. One-to-many
technology marketing is the job of MSDN, not DRG/Evangelism; let MSDN do it's job. Most of the slides,
articles, whitepapers, and other materials developed during the preceding NDA phases, need to be handed
over to the appropriate person or group in MSDN, so that they can be widely disseminated, clarified, and
hammered repeatedly into the collective consciousness of developers everywbere.
This next phase of evangelism – one of guerilla marketing - I term "the Slog."
8: The Slog
Guerilla marketing is often a long, hard slog.
slog (sl^g) v. slogged, slogqing, slogs. –tr, To strike with heavy blows, as in boxing.
-intr. 1. To walk with a slow, plodding gait. 2. To work diligently for long hours. –n.
. 1. long, hard work. 2. A long, exhausting march or hike. [Orig. unknown.] -slog'ger
–American Heritage Dictionary, 1991
In the Slog, Microsoft dukes it out with the competition. MSDN and Platform marketing are the regular
forces, exchanging blows with the enemy mano a mano. Evangelism should avoid formal, frontal assaults,
instead focusing its efforts of hit-and-run tactics.
In the Slog, the enemy will counter-attack, trying to subvert your Tier A ISVs to their side, just as you
should try to subvert their ISVs to your side. New ISVs should be sought, and directed to MSDN's one-to-
many programs. Evangelism should constantly be on the lookout for killer demos, hot young startups,
major ISVs, customer testimonials, enemy-alliance-busting defections and other opportunities to
demonstrate momentum for our technology. If bugs are found in our technology, or missing features are
found to be critically important, then now is the time to identify and fix them. Stay engaged with the
technology development team; ensure that you are a valuable resource for them, not a hectoring pest.
Document all of your progress (ideally in regularly updated internal Web pages) and forward it regularly
to management. If management is not aware of your progress, your successes, and your stumbling blocks,
then they can't help. (They may not help anyway, but they can't if they don't know what you need.)
Keep those Tier A ISVs on track to delivery! They are your strongest weapons and cannot be forgotten.
The elements of the evangelical infrastructure - conference presentations, courses, seminars, books,
magazine articles, whitepapers, etc. – should start hitting the street at the start of the Slog.
They should be so numerous as to push all other books off the shelf, courses out of catalogs, and
presentations off the stage.
Working behind the scenes to orchestrate "independent" praise of our technology, and damnation of the
enemy's, is a key evangelism function during the Slog. "Independent" analyst's report should be issued,
praising your technology and damning the competitors (or ignoring them). "Independent" consultants
should write columns and articles, give conference presentations and moderate stacked panels, all on our
behalf (and setting them up as experts in the new technology, available for just $200/hour). "Independent"
academic sources should be cultivated and quoted (and research money granted). "Independent"
courseware providers should start profiting from their early involvement in our technology. Every possible
source of leverage should be sought and turned to our advantage.
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I have mentioned before the "stacked panel". Panel discussions naturally favor alliances of relatively weak
partners - our usual opposition. For example, an "unbiased" panel on OLE vs. OpenDoc would contain
representatives of the backers of OLE (Microsoft) and the backers of OpenDoc (Apple, IBM, Novell,
WordPerfect, OMG, etc.). Thus we find ourselves outnumbered in almost every "naturally occurring"
panel debate.
A stacked panel, on the other hand, is like a stacked deck: it is packed with people who, on the face of
things, should be neutral, but who are in fact strong supporters of our technology. The key to stacking a
panel is being able to choose the moderator. Most conference organizers allow the moderator to select the
panel, so if you can pick the moderator, you win. Since you can't expect representatives of our competitors
to speak on your behalf, you have to get the moderator to agree to having only "independent ISVs" on the
panel. No one from Microsoft or any other formal backer of the competing technologies would be allowed
– just ISVs who have to use this stuff in the "real world." Sounds marvelously independent doesn't it? In
fact, it allows us to stack the panel with ISVs that back our cause. Thus, the "independent" panel ends up
telling the audience that our technology beats the others hands down. Get the press to cover this panel, and
you've got a major win on your hands.
Finding a moderator is key to setting up a stacked panel. The best sources of pliable moderators are:
-- Analysts: Analysts sell out - that's their business model. But they are very concerned that they never
look like they are selling out, so that makes them very prickly to work with.
-- Consultants: These guys are your best bets as moderators. Get a well-known consultant on your side
early, but don't let him publish anything blatantly pro-Microsoft. Then, get him to propose himself to
the conference organizers as a moderator, whenever a panel opportunity comes up. Since he's well-known, but apparently independent, he'll be accepted – one less thing for the constantly-overworked
conference organizer to worry about, right?
Gathering intelligence on enemy activities is critical to the success of the Slog. We need to know who their
allies are and what differences exist between them and their allies (there are always sources of tension
between allies), so that we can find ways to split 'em apart. Reading the trade press, lurking on
newsgroups, attending conferences, and (above all) talking to ISVs is essential to gathering this intelligence.
This is a very tough phase of evangelism. You'll be pulled in every direction at once, randomized by short-term opportunities and action items, nagged by your Tier A ISVs and pestered by every other ISV that
wants to become a Tier A. Management will want to know right now how you're going to respond to some
bogus announcement by some random ISV. Some PM over in Consumer will demand that you drop
everything to go talk to an ISV in Outer Mongolia, that's run by an old college chum of his. Competitors
will make surprise announcements, lie through their teeth, and generally try to screw you just as hard as
you are trying to screw them.
Of course, if you are very, very lucky, there will be no competition to your technology. But this is almost
never the case. ODBC had its IDAPI, OLE had its OpenDoc, COM had its SOM, DCOM has its CORBA,
MAPI had its VIM, etc., etc., etc. The existence of a Microsoft technology nearly guarantees that a
competitive technology will spring into existence overnight, backed by an impromptu association of
Microsoft competitors which have decided to draw yet another Line in the Sand ("If we don't stop
Microsoft here, then they are going to take over the whole world!").
Without a competing technology to fight, you just hand everything over to MSDN, give your Tier A ISVs
to PSS, and find a new technology to evangelize. But that takes most of the fun out of the game :-)
9: Final Release:
Evangelism of a given technology usually ends with the final, shipping release of that technology. One last
big press event, with demos, a tradeshow, press releases, etc., is often called for, showcasing the apps that
are sim-shipping and the customers that are using them. In the face of strong competition, Evangelism's
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focus may shift immediately to the next version of the same technology, however. Indeed, Phase 1
(Evangelism Starts) for version x+1 may start as soon as this Final Release of version X.
10: Critical Mass
The Slog may continue beyond the Final Release, for many months, until Critical Mass is reached. It is
possible that Critical Mass will not be reached at all for Version X of a technology, such that Phases 1-9
will have to be repeated – possibly more than once – before ever reaching Critical Mass.
Critical Mass is reached when the technology starts evangelizing itself. When reviews subtract points if
it's not supported; when analysts say "great product plan, but what about [Technology Name]?"; when VC's
won't fund a company unless it supports [Technology Name] - that's Critical Mass. At that point,
Evangelism of the technology stops, and Evangelism's resources are applied to other technologies – or, if
you're lucky, moves into the Mopping Up phase.
11: Mopping Up
Mopping Up can be a lot of fun. In the Mopping Up phase, Evangelism's goal is to put the final nail into
the competing technology's coffin, and bury it in the burning depths of the earth. Ideally, use of the
competing technology becomes associated with mental deficiency, as in, "he believes in Santa Claus, the
Easter Bunny, and OS/2." Just keep rubbing it in, via the press, analysts, newsgroups, whatever. Make the
complete failure of the competition's technology part of the mythology of the computer industry. We want
to place selection pressure on those companies and individuals that show a genetic weakness for
competitors' technologies, to make the industry increasingly resistant to such unhealthy strains, over time.
12: Victory
Some technologies continue as competitors long after they are true threats - look at OS/2, the Operating
System that Refused to Die. It is always possible - however unlikely – that competitors like OpenDoc,
SOM, OS/2, etc, could rise from the dead... so long as there is still development work being done on them.
Therefore, final victory is reached only when the competing technology's development team is disbanded,
its offices reassigned, its marketing people promoted, etc. You have truly and finally won, when they come
to interview for work at Microsoft.
Victory is sweet. Savor it. Then, find a new technology to evangelize — and get back to work :-)
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Strategic Plan
Apple Computer, WLM, Windows NT and the Mac OS
James Plamondon
September 21, 1995
Objective
The objective of this strategy is to convert Apple Computer, Inc., from OS foe to hardware
friend.
Executive Summary
This strategy involves two coordinated efforts:
- WLM: We make WLM the most compelling solution for the deployment of Mac OS-
based applications. If successful. this effort will establish Win32 as the de facto API of
the Mac OS.
- Windows NT/PowerPC: We make Windows NT the most compelling operating system
for PowerPC-based servers and workstations – specifically, for high-end graphics and
publishing applications. If successful, this effort will allow Windows NT to usurp the
Mac OS on Apple's own high-end hardware.
Pros and Cons
Positive result: Most cross-platform applications will be written first for Windows, and work
best on Windows.
Negative result: Many apps that might otherwise have been Windows-only, will be ported to
the Mac using WLM – but this strengthens Win32 on the Mac, and thus the positive result.
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WLM
With its new support for the PowerMac and OLE, WLM is poised to become a major success
on the Macintosh. An independent consultant who previously recommended VC/Mac 2,0 to
only 20% of his clients, now recommends VC/Mac 4.0 to 90% of them – and has told Apple
that he expects 50% of the units sold on the Mac in 12 months to be using WLM. Apple itself
is paying a consultant to port PeopleSoft to the Mac using WLM.
Unable to offer developers a cross-platform development alternative to WLM, Apple wants to
make sure that WLM-based applications take the best possible advantage of unique Mac OS
features (such as Apple Guide, PowerTalk, QuickDraw GX, etc.). Apple hopes that this will
prevent the Mac from becoming awash with WLM-based apps that treat the Mac as a least-
common-denominator platform, which would just speed the demise of the Mac OS.
We don't care whether Apple succeeeds in its attempt or not. Their endorsement of the Win32
API on the Mac effectively ensures that ISVs write their apps first for Windows; that the
resulting apps work best on Windows; and that the MacOS is the recipient of second-class,
ported apps.
While the availability of WLM will cause many apps that might otherwise have stayed
Windows-only to support the Mac too, each of these ported apps strengthens the WLM
standard – which in turn increases the attractiveness of writing to Win32, and hence writing
first and best for Windows.
Our efforts with WLM are only one flank of a double-envelopement maneuver – the other
flank being Windows NT on the PowerPC (see below). Windows NT/PowerPC comes at the
Mac OS from the high end down; WLM comes at the Mac OS from the low end up.
Therefore, VC/Mac and WLM should not focus solely on the Mac's high end; they must
continue to target lower-end systems, too. Specifically, VC/Mac should continue to support
the 68K Mac.
Tactics:
- Apple: Get Apple to publicly endorse WLM; to use it in their own cross-platform
development; to assist in its development; to evangelize its use by ISVs; to make Copland
like WLM; to include WLM in Copland.
- DAD/CSD: Use WLM in our own apps, especially those that are likely to be bundled
with Macs, given away free, or otherwise have high penetration; ship as few versions of
WLM as possible; ship the WLM DLL file intact and unaltered; drop the licensing
restrictions on WLM.
- PSD/BSD: Help keep WLM in sync with additions to Win32; work with Apple to make
NT/SFM an even better player in Mac networks; do what is necessary(technically and
marketing) to take the graphics and publishing business away from the Mac.
- DD: Work closely with Apple and Microsoft's internal groups to support WLM; license
WLM directly to Mac tool vendors (after or instead of bundling); keep up with additions
to Win32; continue support for 68K.
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Windows NT on the PowerPC
As Apple's PowerMac converge with IBM and Motorola's PReP machines onto the CHRP
standard, we have a golden opportunity to set Apple's strategy on its head, and usurp the Mac
OS on Apple's own hardware.
3
CHRP boxes from the current PReP vendors will run Windows NT very well; NT is their
focus. So Apple will be faced with direct competitors that offer equivalent hardware, running
Windows NT instead of the Mac OS - and Windows NT apps instead of Mac OS apps. If
these Windows NT/CHRP applications have a price/performance advantage over the
equivalent Mac OS/CHRP apps, Apple's going to be in a very tough competitive position.
And given that the Mac OS won't support threads (let alone symmetric multi-processing) for
over a year, it seems likely that–all else being equal–Apple is indeed likely to be in a tough
spot, at the high end, at least. SUR's lack of Plug-n-Play, and steep hardware requirements,
will keep it off of the desktop in the home and education markets,leaving those to the Mac
OS for a while longer.
At the high end, though – workstation and server apps – NT/PowerPC market is about to
explode, due to the confluence of three factors:
- SUR: The Shell Update Release is going to make Windows NT more palatable to
everyone – especially those who might otherwise choose a Macintosh. The wave of
PR/Marketing surrounding its release, while being nothing like the Windows 95 hype (I
assume), will do much to increase the acceptance of NT as a desktop system. And the
more rapidly Windows NT takes off, on any chip, the better for Windows NT on other
chips.
- VC/NT/PowerPC: The release of Visual C++ 4.0 for Windows NT/PowerPC, at year's
end, will make it easy for the developers of Windows 95 applications to meet the demand
for the PowerPC-native versions that SUR will generate.
- CHRP: Apple adopts a hardware standard that supports Windows NT, at just exactly the
same moment that Windows NT's user interface is improved beyond that of the Mac OS.
(You gotta love it.) Apple (and its licensees), IBM, Motorola, and the Taiwanese,
collectively ships millions of Windows NT-capable boxes.
To make it possible for a mixed shop to standardize on Windows across the board, we'll need
a version of Windows NT that can run on Apple's installed base of PowerSurge Macs.
Motorola says that this work is not theoretically difficult, although they are concentrating
their attentions on CHRP first, which is fine.
We also want to lower the cost of switching from the Mac OS to Windows NT/PowerPC,
given hardware that can run both OSs; this can be done (in part) be encouraging ISVs
(including Microsoft's apps groups) to include the NT/PowerPC version of an app on the
PowerMac SKU of that same app (as well as on Windows SKU).
Tactics:
- Apple: Work with Apple to ship NTS on Shiner; to improve the support for the Mac OS
in NT/SFM.
- Mac OS Licensees: Work with the licensees to ensure that their CHRP and Powersurge
machines run Windows NT really well (dual-boot).
______________________
3 Doing the same to IBM's OS/2 on PowerPC strategy at the same time – slaying two birds with one stone.
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- DAD/CSD: Produce complete, optimized NT/PowerPC versions of every app for which
you currently plan to ship either a Mac OS or an NT/Intel version, including support for
DAO, Jet, etc.; ship the NT/PowerPC version on both the Windows CD SKU and the
PowerMac CD SKU. (Except for really low-end home/education Mac OS stuff)
- PSD/BSD: Work with Apple to make NT/SFM an even better player in Mac networks; do
what is necessary (technica11y and marketing) to take the graphics and publishing
business away from the Mac; produce Intel-peer, complete and optimized versions of NT,
BackOffice, etc.
- DD: Produce Intel-peer, complete and optimized versions of our entire tools suite,
including DAO, Jet, etc., keeping in sync with all Intel releases, etc.
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Appendix A: Windows Layer for the Macintosh (WLM)
WLM is Microsoft's implementation of the Win32 API on top of the Mac OS. A developer
can take a Win32-based application's code, recompile it, and link it to WLM, with the result
being an application that looks and feels like a native Macintosh application – that was written
entirely to the Win32 API.
The wide adoption of WLM is good for Microsoft, because it ensures that applications are
written first for Windows, and work best on Windows, with the Mac as a second-class
platform.
WLM is currently available only as an element of Microsoft Visual C++ Cross-Development
Edition for the Macintosh, but it will also be available soon in a separate WLM/MPC SKU.
The success of the WLM SKU is nearly assured, as its creation was driven by the desires of
the Mac compiler vendors (Metrowerks and Symantec).
WLM's strengths were obscured by its lack of support for OLE and, especially, the
PowerMac, in its first release (in VC/Mac 2.0, November, 1994). These features are being
added to the forthcoming version, to be released in VC/Mac 4.0 (November, 1995)
WLM 4.0 still lacks support for multimedia and OLE Controls, which are currently being
investigated for support in next year's release
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Appendix B: The PowerPC, PReP, CHRB and Copland
The PowerPC is a RISC-based CPU manufactured by IBM and Motorola 4
There are two different standards for personal computers based on the PowerPC CPU: the
PowerPC Reference Platform (PReP), and Apple's PowerMac.
All of Apple's high-end Macs, and an increasing share of its mid- and low-end Macs, are
based on the PowerPC. All PowerPC-based Macs are referred to as "PowerMacs." Early
PowerMacs were hard-wired to be big-endian (as required by the Mac OS), and thus could not
run Windows NT (which requires a little-endian architecture). Older PowerMacs also used
the NuBus bus architecture. The newest PowerMacs, however, are endian-switchable at run-time, and use the PCI bus, so that they could conceivably run Windows NT in addition to the
Mac OS. These newest PowerMacs – the 8500 and 7500, code-named the PowerSurge line –
can be viewed as a half-step by Apple towards CHRP-compliance (see below).
Apple has licensed its PowerMac hardware designs (including PowerSurge) and the Mac OS
itself to three small companies (Power Computing, DayStar, and Radius), which are now
shipping Mac compatibles. These Mac OS licensees are very interested in offering Windows
NT on their future CHRP systems, both to hedge their bets against the potential failure of the
Mac OS, and to differentiate their Mac compatibles from Apple-logoed Macs.
IBM, Motorola, FirePower, and others, manfacture PowerPC computers that are based on
the PowerPC Reference Platform (PReP) standard, defined by IBM and Motorola. All ship
with Windows NT pre-installed.
The Common Hardware Reference Platform (CHRP) is the unification of the PowerMac and
PReP designs, into a single hardware standard that is intended to run Windows NT, the Mac
OS, and others (OS/2, Solaris, AIX, NetWare, NextStep, etc.). CHRP is based on standard
industry components - for everything except the core PowerPC CPU. CHRP's backers hope
to make it a strong second standard, challenging the Intel chip/chipset/motherboard
monopoly. CHRP is also backed strongly by the Taiwanese New PC Consortium (TNPC),
whose board-manufacturing businesses have recently been idled by Intel's entry into that
market.
The CHRP spec is expected to become final late in 1995. Motorola has Windows NT up and
running on CHRP prototype today, which they plan to demonstrate at Fall Comdex in
November 1995. CHRP systems running Windows NT are expected to hit the market as soon as
as Q1 96.
Apple has stated that it will ship its first CHRP-compliant computers in 1ate l996, but much
of tbeir tardiness is due the expectation that these machines will be running the MacOS,
which is not expected to run on CHRP-compliant systems until that time. Apple may be able
to ship a CHRP box that runs Windows NT well before it can ship one running the MacOS
(just as IBM is now shipping NT on its PReP computers, while OS/2 for PowerPC languishes
in development),
"Copland" is the codename for the next version of the Mac OS, a.k.a. "System 8", designed
specifically to take advantage of the CHRP standard. Apple is saying publicly that Copland
will be ready in late 1996, in time for their first CHRP systems – but it is widely believed that
Copland will not be released until mid-to-late 1997. It is known that Apple is porting their
existing Mac OS - System 7.5 - to CHRP, in case Copland does not ship on schedule.
____________________
4
Versions 60l, 603, and 604 are shipping now; the 610 is under development; the project to build the
615 - rumored to have 486 compatibility in silicon - has apparently been scrapped.
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Appendix C: Apple and Windows NT
The Mac OS is a crummy OS for servers, and Apple knows it. On the other hand, Windows
NT is doing very well on servers, and its support for Mac file and print sharing
5 makes it a
natural server for Mac-centric environments.
At one point in late 1994, Apple's Director fof CHRP Marketing, Jim Gable, was running a
skunk-works project with Motorola, with the intention of implementing Windows NT on its
PowerSurge-based "Shiner" server. When Spindler heard about this skunkworks effort early
this year, he went ballistic, and shut it down.
Sinee then, Apple has reorged, and Don Strickland – formerly of Mac OS Licensing – has
taken over as VP of Apple's enterprise marketing. He is backing a new effort to get NT as the
default OS on "Shiner" (which has been redesigned to be fully CHRP-compliant), and has
secured the approval of Apple`s President and CEO, Michael Spindler. Microsoft, Motorola,
and Apple met to discuss this new effort the week of September 25th, and agreed that it could
be ready to ship in Q1 96. The shipment of an Apple-logoed server with windows NT on it
will be opposed by Apple's Mac OS group, and they may succeed in killing tbe project–but
Don Strickland's backing will probably help Shiner ship with NT on board.
____________________
5
Windows NT Server has a collection of "Services for Macintosh" that make it, as Stewart Alsop said in
InfoWorld, "The obvious server for Macintosh networks."
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Appendix D: Apple's Down - But Not Out
Declining ISV support. Almost 90% of Mac ISVs are also writing for Windows. Apple is
having pay Windows ISVs such as PeopleSoft to produce Mac versions of their applications -
and even then, PeopleSoft is using WLM, rather than writing native Mac OS code.
Metrowerks, the leading Mac tool vendor, recently released a Mac-hosted, Windows-targeting
cross-compiler – to a standing ovation – that will accelerate this migration to Win32, and they
are in negotiations to license WLM as well. Adobe recently blamed its poor financial results
on its over-dependence on the Mac, and is moving dramatically towards Windows and
Windows NT. OpenDoc – a key element of Apple's system software strategy – is rapidly
losing mindshare; its failure will seriously discredit the Mac OS group within Apple.
Declining Market Share. The Mac OS's share has dropped to having under 8% of the OS
market, and analysts project it to continue to spiral downwards. SPA recently reported that
sales of Mac applications were down 7% in the second quarter of '95, compared to '94. The
increasing sales of Windows 95 will push the Mac OS' market share even lower by early next
year.
Declining Profitability. Meanwhile, Apple has announced a new line of its PowerPC-based
PowerMacs – the PowerSurge line – that offer all the power of their previous configurations,
at much lower cost. Sales of their older high-end Macs have slowed, awaiting the new
PowerSurge Macs – which are unavailable, due to part shortages. As a result, Apple recently
announced a dramatic 48% decline in profitability.6
Declining Technical Advantage. Because Windows 95 has reached technical parity with the
Mac OS (roughly speaking), Apple can no longer charge a premium for the Mac – it has to be
price-competitive with IBM, Compaq, and the other first-tier Wintel vendors. But unlike its
PC competitors, Apple has a huge software R&D budget, devoted to maintaining and
advancing its proprietary OS. The next version of the Mac OS is expected to be released in
1997 – 18 months or more away. Even then, the new version will not offer features
dramatically superior to Windows 95, let alone Windows NT, And Windows will, by then,
have extended its lead even further – in quality, in installed base, and in application support.
Finally, a forthcoming report from IDC shows that users are more productive using the
Windows 95 UI than the MacUI – robbing the Mac OS of its one last claim to superiority.
Entrenched Base. Apple does have an installed base of around 16 million active users, mostly
in the home, education, and in graphics & publishing. The home and education units are
going to remain in place well into the next millenium; those markets just don't turn over their
hardware quickly – so there will be a continuing (albeit declining) demand for MacOS
software for years to come. On the other hand, the graphics and publishing market turns over
its hardware very quickly, since they are usually riding the very leading edge of the power
curve – so Windows NT Workstation should be able to blow the Mac OS off of Apple's own
hardware in this market in pretty short order.
Apple's Spring Offensive. Despite its many reverses, Apple is not yet dead – nor is the Mac
OS. Apple has reorganized its developer support efforts, and can now evangelize and support
its few remaining developers efficiently. When a developer release of Copland becomes
available early next year, Apple will have something tangible to evangelize, giving the Mac
OS lots of new mindshare. And OpenDoc will finally be released in final form, to great
fanfare. The impending availability of CHRP-compliant Macs will also encourage a new crop
of Mac Os licensees to sprout at about this time.
__________________________
6
The "Osborne Effect" in action. When Adam Osborne enthusiastically described the features of his
forthcoming Osborne II computer, sales of the existing Osborne I fell so sharply that his company went
bankrupt before the new model could be brought to market.
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In short, we should expect to see a major Spring Offensive from Apple in 1996, which we will
need to blunt and turn back.
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LETTER OF AGREEMENT (LOA)
BETWEEN MICROSOFT CORPORATION ("MS")
AND ___________________________ ("COMPANY")
DATE _____________________
Microsoft® Developer Relations Group Internet Program
for Internet Authoring Tools
This LOA sets out the agreement between MS and COMPANY with respect to the development of
authoring tools using MS Internet client and server platform technology as described below. The LOA, in
conjunction with attached material, describes the MS Developer Relations Group Internet program for
Internet authoring tools, its benefits, and requirements for participation through September 1997, or the
release or Internet Explorer 4.0, whichever is later.
In brief, this program provides COMPANY with technical asistance in implementing exciting new
features in COMPANY's Internet authoring tools, as well as co-marketing assistance in promoting its
Internet authoring tools. The benefit to MS is in having Internet authoring tools for creating compelling,
exciting products, which will showcase new features of MS's Internet solutions.
Program Benefits - Technical Assistance from MS
- MS will provide premier-level product support to COMPANY for the Internet technologies
named in this document, free of charge.
- MS will provide COMPANY access to the latest releases (including interim builds) of
Internet related platforms, products and development tools, in accordance with their
respective beta testing agreements, through a private web site prior to any broad software
release.
- MS will provide a special "technical envoy" from MS's Developer Relations Group to assist
in clearing roadblocks, which might arise during the development of COMPANY's Internet
authoring tools, including scheduling meetings between the COMPANY and Microsoft at
Microsoft's discretion and subject to time constraints, schedules and availability.
- MS will invite COMPANY for special implementation lab weeks and workshops in
Redmond, providing COMPANY great support for developing and debugging its Internet
authoring tools. Travel and lodging expenses are COMPANY's responsibility.
Program Benefits — Co-marketing Assistance from MS
1. MS will provide information on COMPANY's Internet authoring tool and their support for
the features described in "Requirements for Participation" (below), or demonstrate
COMPANY's Internet authoring tools to leading Independent Content Providers (ICPs)
participating in the Developer Relations Group Internet Program.
2. MS will invite COMPANY to exhibit in a Microsoft-affiliated area at targeted conferences, in
accordance with the terms of the applicable Exhibitor Agreement. Possible conferences
include Comdex Canada (Toronto, Ontario, July 9-11), Internet World/Summer (Chicago, IL,
July 21-25) and Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference (San Diego, CD, September
23-26). All conferences are tentative and subject change.
3. MS will invite COMPANY to propose a demonstration of its internet authoring tools to be
included in a live satellite broadcast ("Microsoft at the Movies") focused on Internet Explorer
4.0. possibly in conjunction with the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference.
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4. MS will invite COMPANY to include a demonstration version of COMPANY's Internet
application tools on a CDROM, if such a CD-ROM is produced. Over 12,000 attendees
received CD-ROMs at the most recent comparable event
5. COMPANY's Internet authoring tool will have the opportunity to be featured on Microsoft's
Site Builder Network. Terms and conditions of the agreement for featuring COMPANY's
Internet authoring tool have not be finalized and are subject to Site Builder Network approval.
6. COMPANY's Internet authoring tool will be featured for one or more weeks in the new "Tool
of the Week" section of Microsoft's Tools Gallery. (currently located at
http://www.microsoft.com/gallery/files/tools/) Within 60 days following the availability of
COMPANY's pre-release or released Internet authoring tool complying with "Requirememts
for Participation" (below).
7. COMPANY will have the opportunity to license selected content from MS's Site Builder
Network Galleries, for inclusion with COMPANY's internet authoring tools. Terms and
conditions of this license have not been finalized.
8. MS will make best efforts to support any press releases or other public activity that
COMPANY carries out relating to the Internet and the use of MS technology.
9. MS may provide other co-marketing avenues from time to time, such as site contests and joint
advertising. By being on this program, COMPANY will be among the first to be invited to
participate in these co-marketing initiatives.
Requirements for Participation
Product Requirements
1. COMPANY will obtain the "Designed for Windows NT and Windows 95 Logo" for its
Windows-based Internet authoring tools. If COMPANY's Internet authoring tool is end-user
focused COMPANY will obtain the "Office97 Compatible Logo", additionally, if
COMPANY's Internet authoring tool adds value to the Microsoft BackOffice Suite,
COMPANY will obtain the "Designed for Microsoft BackOffice Logo". Information
regarding Microsoft's Logo programs is available at
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/thirdparty/ and
http://www.microsoft.com/office/compatible/. Microsoft will consider paying the expences of
obtaining any logos for the COMPANY's Internet authoring tools, on a case-by-case basis,
depending on the level of technology support offered by COMPANY's Internet authoring
tools.
2. COMPANY's Internet authoring tools will check inserted ActiveX controls and Java applets
for digital certificates using the WinVerifyTrust interface, there by supporting Microsoft's
Authenticode technology. For ActiveX controls and Java applets without digital certificates,
or whose certificates are invalid, (out of date, revoked) COMPANY's Internet authoring tools
will provide appropriate warnings. (See
http://www.microsoft.com/msdn/sdk/platfoms/doc/sdk/win32/func/src/f91_32.htm for
information on the WinVerifyTrust interface.) Additionally COMPANY's Internet authoring
tools will use the IClassFactory2 interfaces to enforce ActiveX control licensing. (see
http;//www.microsoft.com/msdn/platforms/doc/activex/src/comext_8.htm for information
on the IClassFactory2 interfaces.)
3. COMPANY will enhance its Internet authoring tools to host Design Time Controls, as
described in the Web Design-Time Control SDK, available as
http://www.microsoft.com/intdev/sdk/dtctrl/dcsdk.exe. Microsoft is developing a selection of
Design Time Controls, and is considering licensing those controls for redistribution with 3rd
party authoring tools. Possible controls include, data binding controls, CDF creation controls,
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Visual CSS positioning controls, and Multimedia Effects controls. The specific controls and
licensing terms and conditions have not been finalized.
4. COMPANY will enhance its Internet authoring tools to support Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
as defined in the Internet Client SDK at
http://www.microsoft.com/sitebuilder/features/inetsdk.asp and by the W3C at
http://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/Style. This support should include mpport for all CSS
elements and attributes, and the ability for authors to visually change any element attributes.
5. COMPANY will enhance its Internet authoring tools to Support CSS positioning as defined in
the Internet Client SDK at http://www.microsoft.com/sitebuilder/features/inetsdk.asp and by
the W3C at http://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/TR/WD-positioning. This support should include
the ability for authors to position any element with CSS defined precision.
6. COMPANY will enhance its internet authoring tools to support Internet Explorer 4.0
multimedia effects, as defined in the Internet Client SDK at
http://www.microsoft.com/sitebuilder/features/inetsdk.asp. This functionality should allow
authors to define interactive, media rich web pages, by providing an easy interface for using
effects such as transitions, sequences, paths, audio, complex graphics, spites, and the other
effects provided with Internet Explorer.
7. COMPANY will enhance its Internet authoring tools to support the creation of Channel
Definition Format (CDF) files as defined in the Internet Client SDK at
http;//www.microsoft.com/sitebuilder/features/inetsdk.asp and by the WSC at
http://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/Style/. This support should include the ability for authors to
select any content, including cross-site content, and then automatically generate the CDF file,
and required META tag information.
8. COMPANY will enhance its Internet authoring tools to support Internet Explorer 4.0 data
binding attributes, as defined in the Internet Client SDK at
http;//www.microsoft.com/sitebuilder/features/inetsdk.asp . Internet Explorer 4.0 data binding
allows authors to asyncronously push data to specified HTML pages. This functionality
should allow authors to select elements to bind to available data sources. Allowing authors to
define the format of returned data, ie. repeated table, or current row.
9. COMPANY will enhance its Internet authoring tools to support the PICS rating system, as
defined by the WSC at http://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/TR/REC-PICS-services-961031.html.
This support should include the ability to visual set the PICS settings, and then generate and
insert the required META tag information.
10. COMPANY's Internet authoring tools will support Active Server Pages (ASP). This support
must include ASP shorthand syntax "" and value added support for the server
components that ship with IIS 3.0 or later. (See http://www.microsoft.com/iis/ for
information regarding Active Server Pages and IIS components.)
11. COMPANY will enhance its Internet authoring tools to add Microsoft Transaction Server
(MTS) support to all server side components that ship with its Internet authoring tools,
including Java applets. (See http://www.microsoft.com/transaction/ for information regarding
Microsoft Transaction Server.)
12. COMPANY will enhance its internet authoring tools to add value-added support to
Microsoft's SiteServer and other server side components. (See
http://wwv.microsoft.com/siteserver/ for information regarding Microsoft's SiteServer.)
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13. COMPANY's Internet authoring tool will host the Microsoft Internet Control (the Microsoft
Internet Explorer HTML: engine, also known as "WebBrowser") as its integrated browser,
there-by providing authors with integrated previewing capability. (See
http://www.microsoft.com/workshop/prog/sdk/docs/iexplore/webrowse.htm for information
on integrating the WebBrowser control.) Additionally COMPANY will license Internet
Explorer 4.0 or later for redistribution with their Internet authoring tools. (See
http://www.microsoft.com/ie/ieak for information on redistributing Internet Explorer.
14. COMPANY's Internet authoring tools will host the Microsoft Active scripting interfaces,
allowing interactive authoring and debugging of scripts and Java applets.
15. COMPANY will enhance some Java components and applets that are redistributed with its
Internet authoring tools to utilize Microsofts Application Foundation Classes, including
Microsoft's AFC Enterprise classes for some server based Java components. Additionally
COMPANY will license and redistribute the AFC classes with its Internet authoring tools.
16. All ActiveX controls and Java components that are distributed with COMPANY's Internet
authoring tools will be stored in CAB files and digitally signed using Microsoft's
Authenticode(TM) code signing specification (See
http://www.microsoft.com/workshop/prog/cab/ for information on CAB tiles and
http://www.microsoft.com/workshop/prog/security/authcode/codesign.htm for information on
signing CAB files.)
17. COMPANY's Internet authoring tools will support creation of Web Collections, a W3C
standard derived from Microsoft's SiteMap technology. Web Collections are used to
represent the Table of Contents and Keyword Index files used by the MS HTML Help
technology.
18. COMPANY will register their Internet authoring tools with the Microsoft Tools Gallery,
currently located at http://www,microsoft.com/gallery/files/tools/.
19. COMPANY will register their internet authoring tools with the Microsoft J/Advantage
program. Information regarding the J/Advantage program can be found at
http://www.microsoft.com/java/.
20. COMPANY agrees to display marketing materials (e.g. small signs, monitor toppers) noting
product's support for Microsoft's technologies (eg. Internet Explorer, Microsoft Java VM,
AFC) whenever PRODUCT is being demonstrated publicly (e.g. booths at trade shows,
conferences, seminars, roadshows.)
21. COMPANY will provide by June 15th, a quote from its most senior executive stating
COMPANY's support for the Microsoft Dynamic HTML, another supporting CDF, and a
third supporting both the Dynamic HTML and CDF, and the right to use these quotes in
internet-related press releases for 60 days thereafter.
22. COMPANY's Internet authoring tool will support for inserting the authorized Microsoft
Internet Explorer logo on a page through an easy to use interface, in accordance with the
applicable logo agreements. Additional information can be found at
http://www.microsoft.com/ie/logo/.
Site Requirements
- If COMPANY maintains its own web site, COMPANY will use the Windows NT Internet
Information Server 3.0 or later as the primary http server on its site and host at least one page
showing support for Active Server Pages.
MS-PCA 1913208
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2. COMPANY will add Microsoft to the list of "Technology Alliances and Partnerships" as
listed at http://www.allaire.com/partners/.
3. COMPANY will display the authorized Microsoft Internet Explorer logo on its default home
page, in accordance with the applicable logo agreements. Additional information can be
found at http://www.microsoft.com/ie/logo/. Or COMPANY agrees not to display any
competitive product logos on their home pages.
4. If COMPANY provides their Internet authoring tools for downloading from their web site the
setup program will be digitally signed in accordance with Microsofts AuthenticodeTM code
signing specification. (See
http://www.microsoft.com/workshop/prog/security/authcode/codesign.htm for information on
signing executable files.) NOTE: Site Builder Network requires all downloadable files to
be digitally signed.
Event Requirements
- COMPANY will use Internet Explorer 4.0 or later as the default browser for all
demonstrations and keynotes at Microsoft sponsored events, and will give default to Internet
Explorer 4.0 or later but giving equal use to other competing products at all non-Microsoft
sponsored events.
Time Frames
COMPANY agrees to meet the following schedules in order to enter and ensure continued participation in
this program:
- COMPANY should have completed requirement 1 listed under the "Site Requirements"
section within two weeks of entering into this agreement. COMPANY should have
completed all requirements listed under the "Site Requirements" section within one month of
entering into this agreement.
- COMPANY should make a "Beta" release of its Internet authoring tools available for
download via its web site within four months of entering into this agreement, meeting all
requirements listed under the "Product Requirements" section.
- COMPANY will ship their Internet authoring tools within three months of the shipment of
Internet Explorer 4.0. Please note that participation in some marketing activities may require
a shorter and less flexible schedule as well as cross-platform versions of COMPANY's
products. Microsoft will use the following COMPANY-supplied information to track
company's eligibility (all data will be treated confidentially as described in the
"Confidentiality" section):
Product Name(s) | Platform(s) Supported | Product Description(s) |
Expected "WWW Beta" | Expected Final Shipment Date |
- | - | - | - | - |
- | - | - | - | - |
COMPANY WEB SITE NAME: _______________________________________________________________
COMPANY WEB SITE URL: _______________________________________________________________
CONTRACTORS USED (if any): ___________________________________________________________
Confidentiality
MS-PCA 1913209
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Page 25 of 27 |
MS and COMPANY shall keep in confidence the existence of this LOA, any of the terms and conditions
described herein, and any confidential or proprietary documents or information relating to our products or
programs. Neither MS nor COMPANY shall disclose any such information to a third party except as may
otherwise be permitted in the existing Non-Disclosure Agreement between COMPANY and MS. dated
__________________.
Accepted and agreed to:
By signing below, you are agreeing:
- to the terms and conditions of the Ms Developer Relations Group Internet program for Internet
Authoring Tools outlined in this letter
- that you are am officer of your company with authority to enter into this agreement with MS
_________________________
CORPORATION
By: _____________________________
Name: _____________________________
Title:_____________________________
Date: _____________________________
_________________________
MICROSOFT®
By:
Name:
Title:
Date:
Attachments:
MS STANDARD NDA
MS-PCA 1913210
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MS-PCA 1913211
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Power Evangelism
James Plamondon Technical Evangelist
Microsoft Developer Relations Group
In Our Previous Session
Evangelism Is War
Evangelism is WAR!
- Mission
- Establish Microsoft's platforms as de facto standards
- Enemies
- Battlefield
- Progress
- Shipping ISV applications
The Role of ISVs
- Pawns in the struggle
- Today's allies; tomorrow -- who knows?
- We may move into their markets
- They may move into ours
- Valuable pawns
- We can't win without 'em
- Must take good care of them
- Can't let 'em feel like pawns
- Treat them with respect (as you use them)
Today's Topic
Getting ISVs to Do What You Want
- What do you want?
- What does the ISV want?
- What do you both want?
- Channels of Information
- Power, and how to use it
What Do You Want? Goals
- Goal
- Establish [platform] as the de facto standard in the
industry
- Different platforms; same goal
- Longer than a review period
- Not directly measurable
- So you also need objectives
What Do You Want?
Platform Objectives
- DRG does not create platforms
- Someone else in Microsoft does
- What are their objectives?
- Platform Business Plan
- Platform Product Manager
- They probably didn't think about ISVs or evangelism
- Turn their objectives into your objectives
What Do You Want?
SMART objectives
- Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, Timed
- Specific
- Win95 logo-compliant apps
- Measurable
- 10 Win95 logo-compliant apps
- Actionable
- 10 of 40 FirstWave apps (list)
What Do You Want?
SMART objectives (cont'd)
Resulting Objective:
10 of top 40 key apps showing Win95 logo-compliant versions
at Spring Comdex '95
"Sold"! -- Now, what?
- You need a complete infrastructure to turn a 'sale' into a
shipping app
- Infrastructure:
- The resources that an ISV needs to deliver a shipping
application that supports your platform.
- Building the infrastructure is part of evangelism
- Build the infrastructure first
Infrastructure
- Decision-support materials
- Whitepapers
- Demos
- Testimonials
- Analysts' reports
- Training resources
- Documentation
- Sample code
- Books and articles
- Courses
Infrastructure (cont'd)
- Implementation resources
- Consultants
- Developers
- Porting Lab
- PSS
- Tool support
- Debuggers
- Compliance Testing
Infrastructure (cont'd)
- Marketing Resources
- Events
- Catalogs
- Press Releases
- Press Tours
- CD Samplers
- Joint Advertising
Mind Control
Mind Control
- To control mental output, to have to control mental input
- Take control of the channels by which developers receive information
- Then they can only think about the things you tell them
- Thus, you control mindshare
Channels of Information
One-on-One
- Staple of Evangelism
- Effective, but expensive (time and $$)
- In-person
- Videoconference
- All Microsoft sales offices are wired
- Telephone
- Conferences
- Tradeshows
Channels of Information
One-to-Many
- Conference presentations
- Roadshows
- Tradeshow booths
- Developers Conferences
Channels of Information
Developer SIGs
- Special case of one-to-many meetings
- Go out with 'em afterwards
Channels of Information
Developer Conferences
- Special case of one-to-many meetings
- Two kinds
- Controlled by platform vendor
- Brainshare, PDC, Lotusphere
- Independent
- Gather intelligence at enemy conferences; be nice
- Subvert independent conferences
Channels of Information
Developer Magazines
- Same as developer conferences
- Infiltrate and subvert
- Encourage new writers
- Add value to the independent magazines
Channels of Information
On-Line Forums
- Monitor the relevant Usenet groups at all times
- Write well
- Be exceedingly formal and polite
- It is very easy to give offense
- Always assume that you are wrong; ask others to explain it
to you
- Developers are impresed by clear, precise, polite communication
- Don't sound like a prig
Channels of Information
Books
- Very active book market
- Start the book early
- Get a third-party to write it
- Consultants love this
- Choose a credible author
Channels of Information
Consultants
- Independent evangelists
- Must be on the bleeding edge
- "Patina of Objectivity"
- Contract houses
- Sample code
- Books, articles
Power
and How to Use it
YOU have POWER!
- Power
- The ability to GET THINGS DONE
- Source of Power
- The ability to control the distribution of valuable
resources
- Exchange of Resources
Exchange of Resources
- Trading favors
- "if you help me, I'll help you"
- ALWAYS return favors
- NEVER work with someone who has failed to return a favor
- Help people!
- Then they owe you a favor in return
- You have MANY resources
What Does the ISV Want?
- Success
- Financial
- Social/Status
- Other
- Corporate vs. Personal
- Stock price vs. salary
- Long-term vs. short term
- Good-for-product vs. good-for-resume
- Identify the decision-maker's wants
- Then show how your platform fulfills those wants
Resources
- Information
- Specifications
- Betas
- SDKs
- Free Products
- Knowledge
Resources (continued)
- Job placement
- people looking for jobs
- ISVs looking for candidates
- Exposure
- Publications
- Conferences
- Seminars
Resources
(yes, you have still more resources)
- Cash
- Co-marketing
- Contracts
- Technical support
- Sales Force
- Solution Providers
- Conferences
Resources
(an endless supply)
- Exclusive events
- T-shirts
- Newsletter
- Developers Group
- Consultants group
- Conferences
- Create your own resources!
Summary
- You set the standard
- You have tremendous power
- Use it!
- Make things happen!
- Kick some ISV butt!
- Take no prisoners!
- Windows, Windows, Windows!
1
It is arguable that it is this unstoppable momentum, not just sufficient mass, that is our objective; however,
since unstoppable momentum is an inevitable consequence of attaining critical mass, the distinction is moot.
2
"Increasing Returns" theory, promulgated by Brian Arthur of Stanford.
3
Historically, DRG has not evangelized the use of our platforms by Microsoft's own applications and
business solutions. It is assumed that they are fully supporting our platforms. But as our technologies have
become more numerous and complex, the need for internal evangelism has increased. Such internal
evangelism can be highly leveraged, because our applications play an important role in setting standards in
the industry. When the internal evangelism will clearly further DRG's ends, do it; but remember that at
present, internal evangelism is not itself in DRG's charter so it's a means to an end, not an end in itself.
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