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Windows 2000 Special: Microsoft's UK MD answers the critics
Neil Holloway, Microsoft's UK boss, came into Silicon.com's studios last week to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of his company's latest operating system. The full interview, conducted by Dominic Maher, can be seen in the Desktop Strategies Channel, but below is a transcript of the key points of the debate

By Dominic Maher

Published: Friday 17 March 2000

Dominic Maher: If Windows 95 and NT4 were so good, why do we need Windows 2000 now?
Neil Holloway: The Internet wasn't really with us three to four years ago - it certainly wasn't being embraced in the same way businesses are today embracing the Internet. So Windows 2000 has been designed to really take advantage of the Internet.

DM: But with so few applications certified for Windows 2000 at the moment, what effect will this have on the operating system?
NH: Certification of applications is very important to operating systems. We've been spending a lot of time on this: over 8,000 applications have already been tested with Windows 2000, so there are 8,000 applications today that can run on Windows 2000.

DM: What can a company gain from moving to Windows 2000?
NH: I think that's a very broad question. Fundamentally, all businesses are trying to embrace the Internet, and Windows 2000 has been designed at the heart to embrace the Internet.

DM: One analyst said that you're selling products that people don't really want. What do you say to that?
NH: No, that's not true. We've had 750,000 customers beta-testing Windows 2000 over the last 12 months and if you look at customers like Dell, Ford and General Motors they are already adopting Windows 2000. That's a great endorsement of a product customers do want, it's not marketing. It's the customers deciding to buy that product.

DM: How many of those customers are in the UK?
NH: We've had 40,000 customers in the UK trial that product and great responses from both small and large customers who can really see the business benefit of adopting Windows 2000 now.

DM: The University of the West of England has recently upgraded its network from Windows 3.1 to Windows NT. Stability problems are now starting to occur. If NT is not stable enough, will Windows 2000 be stable enough?
NH: Windows NT is very stable. Dell.com was already running on Windows NT. Windows 2000 goes to the next level though. Following a recent report from Ziff Davis, what they were demonstrating is that NT workstation running on a desktop was running really well and that was running for about five days without them having to make any changes. Windows 2000 is actually running now over 90 days without any changes, which is a great statement with regard to reliability on the desktop.

DM: So if we go back 18 months or two years, are you saying that NT in comparison wasn't good enough?
NH: No, I'm saying at the time that NT was a great product and many customers got great business advantage from running NT. That's why it has such a high market share. But, listening to customer feedback, one of the things that we really need to address was reliability. We've spent an awful lot of time and over $150m investing in just purely reliability on the desktop.

DM: With so much being spent and invested, reports suggest that there are 63,000 defects...?
NH: That report is inaccurate. Windows 2000 has been tested with three-quarters of a million customers there are 13,000 devices which have been tested and 8,000 applications. Windows 2000 is the most reliable operating system Microsoft has ever released.

DM: So there are no defects at all in this product?
NH: I'm being realistic. Every software product, when you get the multiple combinations which customers use that really stretch the product, there are bound to be problems. But fundamentally Windows 2000 is the most reliable version of Windows we have ever released.

DM: Why is it that in the IT industry you can have a product that comes out with defects. If I was selling cars and I sold a car with even one defect I'd be shot...?
NH: Realistically, what I think you're trying to do with software is much more challenging than what you're trying to do with a car. I think we're constantly trying to innovate in the industry and that's one of the great things that the industry has done because it gives great business benefit to customers who use that technology and it's a fact of life. When you are developing products which work with multiple combinations, 30,000 devices, 8,000 applications, putting all those together, in all different environments and completely different languages, there's a huge testing challenge which is why we spend so much money on testing. But reality is, like every other software product out there, eventually there are going to be some issues. But fundamentally, Windows 2000 is the most reliable based upon feedback from third-parties.

You can see the full interview in the Desktop Strategies channel (http://www.silicon.com/a36393 ).