Despite concerns about NeXT dropping its hardware, users at large corporate and government sites have generally embraced the move, with ProNeXT, the alliance of users at some of NeXT's most influential installations, giving a big thumbs up to the new business strategy.
"We sincerely and honestly hoped it was going to happen," said Craig Heimark, managing director of information technology for Swiss Bank Corporation (SBC), which is a founding member of ProNeXT and has over 1000 NeXT machines around the world. "Software is the key to our production and the more NeXT focuses on software, the better off we'll be using it."
Rob Wilen, SBC's director of technical architecture, added that NeXT can now concentrate on one opponent Ð Microsoft Ð and "you're a lot more likely to win a battle if you concentrate."
The ProNeXT statement stressed "the future for NeXT lies in the success of their operating system." The group was organized in 1991 by users at SBC, Williams Telecommunications, the William Morris Agency, Termerlin McLain (formerly Bozell, Jacobs, and Eckhardt), and others, to share information about NeXTSTEP development and network-administration concerns.
Users at various sites voiced concerns, however, about continued support for NeXT hardware, the future of NeXTSTEP on black '040 hardware, and the overall stability of the company. "Since [NeXT CEO] Steve Jobs has always been a hardware visionary, I wonder if it's good for him to stay with [the new] NeXT," one source said.
The lead engineer at a nonprofit systems-engineering firm lamented that he "thinks NeXT is doing the right thing, but how do I tell that to 45 other people who don't have the vision?" He said he was "astonished" that NeXT announced its move without first putting in place "solid support alternatives."
Several users reported rumors of brisk sales in NeXT hardware, with many trying to push through their orders before May 25.
NeXT's new strategy may complicate recent sales efforts. At Fannie Mae (Federal National Mortgage Association), which has been consdering NeXTSTEP for Intel since December, "our investigation process has been stretched out a bit," said Andew Weiss, vice-president of advanced technology. He expects Fannie Mae to make a decision within 60 to 90 days.