Customers Lose Out in NC Rush

Sybase CEO Mitchell Kertzmann has hit out at companies jumping on the network computer (NC) bandwagon, claiming that they are more interested in money, power and the defeat of Microsoft than in customer benefits.

Speaking at Uniforum in San Francisco, Kertzmann told delegates that the NC is the latest platform paradigm shift in IT. But he refused to make a strong commitment about Sybase?s line on NCs.

He said Sybase would try to work with both the NC and PC camps, but would not commit itself to either.

?My concern is: are we responding to customer requirements or are we just doing it for the sake of competitive advantage? Do we want to put our children?s education at risk over the war between distributed computing and centralised computing?? he said.

?When there is a paradigm shift, small companies can get big. Wealth and power also change. We are at the beginning of one of those shifts.?

He said there was concern for software customers, who may become victims of the platform battle. ?There is no right and wrong and the customers should decide.?

As fat clients created problems for customers during the reign of the PC, Kertzmann suggested that IT users may find problems with the NC architecture in a few years? time and prompt another platform shift.