Will users trust Microsoft to manage and secure their PCs? If history is any indicator, the answer could be no. Do users trust Microsoft enough to allow the Redmond vendor to secure their systems? Microsoft has been testing out, for at least two years, the concept of offering consumers security and management services on a hosted basis. (It did so via a prototype known as the PC Satisfaction Trial.) Earlier this month, the Redmond software vendor went public with its plans to launch the resulting MSN-branded subscription service, code-named "A1" — and officially christened "Windows OneCare." We still don't know a whole heck of a lot about OneCare. We don't know how much it will cost, who will sell it and whether or not customers will be interested in buying such a service from Microsoft. We also don't know whether Microsoft will field a version of OneCare for enterprises. Given that enterprises have entire departments dedicated to securing and managing their systems, it doesn't seem as if such a product would be of much interest. Mike Nash, head of the company's security technology and business unit, said during a Webcast this week that Microsoft was planning an enterprise version of OneCare. Now company officials are saying that "there are no current plans" for such a product. But Gartner Group and other pundits are predicting Microsoft will, indeed, field something like OneCare for corporate users. Read the rest of the article at Microsoft Watch.
