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In the past, there have been many choices for computing platforms--IBM mainframe, VAX, Unix, Windows and Macintosh. Now there are but two: the Internet platform and everything else. As much as you can define your direction, choose to define it in terms of an Internet computing platform, rather than a boat load of products from some vendor. The writing is not only on the wall, but the message is spelled out in big neon letters.

Some may say, "Wait! What about Netscape versus Microsoft, or the PC versus the NC?" In answer to this, I say: First, few battles have ever been won by instinctively waiting at every turn. After all, he who hesitates is lost. Or, you snooze, you lose.

Second, the Balkanization of corporate intranets into different camps (Microsoft, Netscape, Sun Microsystems, Oracle and IBM-Lotus) has been largely a result of vendor insistence on squabbling, fueled by excessive public relations budgets and a willing media.

Any real-world intranet will start by taking advantage of the plan already in place (Microsoft's main point--you already have its stuff). And like most folks, you will want to leverage a market leader focused on the market (touchˇ Netscape).

Of course, you will have to write some custom objects at some point (thanks to Java and Sun). Finally, if you are involved long term with consumer electronics or dedicated tasks like point of sale, then you can bet on the NC championed by Oracle and others.

By extending your organization's reach to literally anyone you can ping from your network, you will contribute greatly to the time to market; which in turn, will result in some cost-cutting. The generic Java-enabled browser is the k ey to both time to market and lower costs.

The Future of NCs NCs will, in f act, be both cheaper to acquire and to own than PCs. But when was the last time you saw one deployed? Corporate consumers are still buying PCs.

The NC's true home lies not in displacing the PC, but rather in expanding the market. Like economists who worry about Social Security and the stock market collapsing once the boomer generation's money runs out, technology companies worry about what will happen when the penetration of PCs saturates the market and the bundling of additional capabilities generates less churn for upgrades. That's when the NC's time in the sun will come.

Meanwhile, the NC will make slow and steady gains in the corporate world. For those who say only a PC will suffice, try to remember that for years those same corporations ran on 3270 devices. The capabilities of a "mere" dedicated browser are more than sufficient.

So, the answer to the question "When will we all use an NC?" is we will, in fac t, use several. The NC is really a virtual device, the generic Java-enabled browser. In the end, it's not important whether the physical access device is a PC or an NC.

Your technology choices for computing platform can either facilitate or hinder the reach of your organization's imperatives. Your leadership can ensure organizational flexibility by focusing development on the generic client wherever it's practical and beneficial.

Brian Walsh is a senior consultant with Cap Gemini America in Portland, Ore. He can be reached at bwalsh@nwc.com.