Remember Banyan? How about VINES, Beyond Mail and StreetTalk?
Well, Banyan was expected to launch Banyan Directory Services last week in the US, an implementation and consulting service designed to help enterprises deploy the directory of their choice.
The service is more than a company marketing its expertise; it represents a major milestone in the remaking of Banyan.
Although the company has been wading in the services pool for some time, Banyan now appears to be preparing to take the big plunge, largely leaving its local-network software legacy behind.
In its quarterly report filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission in May, Banyan said its strategic focus was "to decrease reliance on traditional networking software products while devoting additional resources to network services and Internet business initiatives".
Banyan Directory Services, combined with an alliance the company signed in January with Microsoft to migrate Banyan users to Windows NT, Exchange and Active Directory, is providing ample evidence that Banyan's reliance on software is decreasing rapidly.
Banyan's sale earlier this month of a 35 per cent stake in its Switchboard online search service to CBS also points to Banyan's increased emphasis on services.
Under the deal, CBS committed to widespread promotion of Switchboard.
