On top of its efforts in the virtualization arena, Microsoft is also focusing on modeling, when it comes down to transitioning new innovative technologies and platforms out from the niche and into the mainstream. The Redmond giant is in fact wrapping up a Community Technology Preview of its Oslo modeling platform for release at the Professional Developer Conference at the end of October 2008 in Los Angeles. Bob Muglia, senior vice president, Server and Tools Business at Microsoft, indicated that PDC2008 would be a great chance for Oslo CTP to find its way into the hands of customers and, in this context, make its first step as a platform to becoming mainstream.

“We’re building modeling in as a core part of the platform,” Muglia said. “This enables IT pros to specify their business needs and build applications that work directly from those specifications. It also brings together the different stages of the IT life cycle - connecting business analysts, who specify requirements, with system architects, who design the solution, with developers, who build the applications, and with operations experts, who deploy and maintain the applications. Ultimately, this means IT pros can innovate and respond faster to the needs of their business.”

In order to demonstrate its commencement to making modeling mainstream, Microsoft has joined forces with the Object Management Group (OMG) standards body. Dr. Richard Mark Soley, CEO at OMG welcomed the addition of Microsoft to the Object Management Group as an innovator in the field of software development.

“In less than 10 years, OMG’s UML, a cornerstone of the Model Driven Architecture initiative, has been adopted by the majority of development organizations, making OMG the seminal modeling organization and supporting a broad array of vertical market standards efforts in healthcare, finance, manufacturing, government and other areas. Microsoft’s broad expertise and impact will make its membership in OMG beneficial to everyone involved,” Soley stated.

An integral part of the Redmond company's Dynamic IT strategy, Oslo is designed to virtually reinvent the wheel when it comes to the business core application development process and strategy. In this regard, the software giant is looking to deliver innovation to model-driven development by integrating models into all the aspects of the building process from the design stage to deployment and management.