As Microsoft suceeds in educating its global Enterprise customers (and slowly improving licensing) on the benefits of SharePoint Portal Server (now MOSS, with Shared Service Providers for 2007), it has begun to resemble a middleware-like abstraction model, significantly improving end-user client access to core systems & legacy business process applications. Besides the fact that Microsoft’s new “middleware” will fast require IT-Governance, operations management, business-requirements & change-management, and adherance to policy & standards compliance, MOSS will ALSO have to align with traditional middleware disciplines - and to educate those who missed SharePoints’ transition into middleware, Bill English had a great post near the end of 2006, that described the evolutions & transformations that have transpired…a great summary point of view, that lays out MOSS’s future….  

Read the rest at Glenn Cameron’s blog