Melbourne-based Damien Watkins has been involved with the .NET phenomenon since 1998, when Microsoft approached a number of universities worldwide to provide feedback to the .NET framework. An academic at the time, Watkins lectured at the School of Computer Science and Software Engineering, and the Department of Software Development at Monash University. He was given the chance to visit the software giant�s US headquarters in Redmond with researchers and developers from all over the world. Since then he has set up his own business, Project42, and travels the world providing training, consulting and mentoring to companies that wish to develop component-based software architectures for the Internet.

�People think of Microsoft as being desktop-centric, which it was 10-20 years ago,� Watkins said. �I think .NET in some ways is Microsoft saying the future is the Internet and this is our way, or moving away from being desktop-focussed.� Pointing out that Web services is the buzzword of the moment, Watkins said .NET is very important from a strategic viewpoint. �.NET is Microsoft�s Web services,� he said, adding that it�s good to have many large software vendors and computing companies travelling on a common path. �We have to have a common way of talking between things...it�s nice not to have everyone pulling each other apart for a time.�