The focus of this paper is primarily on business issues and strategy. It is intended to provide an analysis on the motivations, methods, and means that drive .NET. The component technologies and products of .NET will be mentioned here but not covered in detail. Most product releases are incremental in nature. .NET was not so much a product as a broad vision that included a variety of incremental products in conjunction with multiple technology initiatives. Its sweeping scope makes it truly unique among business strategies in the high tech marketplace where most strategies are geared towards single product lines and are seasonal in nature. The widespread nature of .NET and its substantial impact on the IT industry makes it an interesting topic to study. This analysis will first cover the different aspects that make up the whole of .NET: the products, the technology, and the branding. Next it will cover the reasons why Microsoft released .NET as well as its value proposition to customers and adopters. This analysis will also cover the various strategies for rolling out .NET, and some problems encountered during the roll out.