.NET experiences: These are XML Web services that allow you to access information across the Internet and from stand-alone applications in an integrated way. Examples of the .NET experience are MSN, bCentral, Passport, and Microsoft Visual Studio .NET.

Clients: These are PCs, laptops, workstations, phones, handheld computers, tablet PCs, game consoles, and other smart devices. What makes these devices “smart” is their ability to access XML Web services. Smart clients use software that supports XML Web services and enables you to access your data regardless of the location, type, and number of clients you use.

XML Web services: These offer a direct means for applications to interact with other applications. Applications hosted internally, as well as on remote systems, can communicate via the Internet by using XML and Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) messages. In addition to developers creating XML Web services, Microsoft is creating a core set of building block services that perform routine tasks and act as the foundation for developers to build on. The first set of XML Web services being built, known as .NET My Services, are user-centric services: services oriented toward people rather than devices, networks, or applications.

Servers: The Microsoft .NET Enterprise Servers, including the Microsoft Windows 2000 server family, make up the Microsoft .NET server infrastructure for deploying, managing, and orchestrating XML Web services.

Tools: Microsoft Visual Studio .NET and the Microsoft .NET Framework supply a complete solution for developers to build, deploy, and run XML Web services. These tools maximize the performance, reliability, and security of XML Web services. Visual Studio .NET is the next generation of Microsoft's popular multilanguage development tool built especially for .NET. The .NET Framework is a high-productivity, standards-based, multilanguage application execution environment that handles essential plumbing chores and eases deployment. It provides an application execution environment that manages memory, addresses versioning issues, and improves the reliability, scalability, and security of your application.