No slam dunk
While American Express was one of a handful of partners on hand at Microsoft headquarters last month to show its support for HailStorm--and how customers of its "Blue" card could have access to instant messaging and notification services concerning their account--the company said its enthusiasm for .Net remains just that, for now.
"We're excited about the possibilities of .Net," said Molly Faust, vice president of corporate finance communications at American Express. "We're looking at lots of new and emerging technologies that can deliver benefits to our customers. But we would only deliver those benefits if the privacy and security of our customers is maintained and assured."
Since so many details concerning HailStorm are not yet finalised, "what we showed is the possibility of services we could deliver, not what we will deliver," Faust said.
If Microsoft's HailStorm platform didn't meet American Express' privacy and security standards, "we wouldn't follow through," she said. "They're not standards, they're requirements . . . When we're working with partners and vendors, we need to ensure that their privacy practices are up to our requirements."
Another partner, eBay, said the privacy and security of its customers is also a priority, but it remains confident Microsoft will deliver on its HailStorm promises. The online auction site hopes to use HailStorm services to provide its customers with real-time tracking of their bids without requiring them to be logged on to eBay's Web site.
"We have a long history with Microsoft," said eBay spokesman Kevin Pursglove, noting that Microsoft operates the front end of eBay's auction service. "I think we're both on the same page in terms of where eBay wants to be in terms of privacy and security. And our past record with Microsoft... is that you always find that where there's a will, there's a way. If the priority and objectives are set, and if the interest in reaching them is high enough, then we will make it work."
There's certainly a will--Microsoft is betting the company on .Net. As for the way, Microsoft's route remains unclear, littered with obstacles, tortuous.
And while company executives say they believe the journey will lead to pots of gold, others hope the trek to .Net becomes so painful and confused that the company strikes out for riches elsewhere.
Microsoft "wants to be like a government," said privacy advocate Jason Catlett, president of Junkbusters. "They want to issue passports and levy tolls and control identity. But they just aren't a trustworthy government in the eyes of most people... If they want to be the consumer identity broker and toll collector, then privacy and consumer trust are going to be the biggest points of resilience for them."
