But I think it is succeeding. For years Intel has promoted PCs as viable platforms for running business-critical applications, yet many corporate customers are still relying on Unix and mainframes to power critical applications. PCs are a viable platform. Database applications are by definition mission-critical. But SAP is probably the most clear example because so much of its business has to do with order processing.
Few applications become more vital to business than order processing.
Basically, the performance of some PC-based platforms has to grow further. That was almost a watershed event. Things have moved very, very slowly in the year and a half since Telecom. I don't consider that progress at a ll. Deployment of ISDN, which is probably the closest bet in the near term for increasing the bandwidth for reaching the Internet, has been very, very slow.