The company plans to unveil the initiative, called Dynamic Systems Initiative (DSI), at a Las Vegas conference next week when it debuts its new systems management tools

The Redmond, Wash.-based company plans to unveil the initiative, called Dynamic Systems Initiative (DSI), at a Las Vegas conference next week when it debuts its new systems management tools. The initiative seeks to create business software that automatically responds to, and compensates for, fluctuations in computing demand. Such software would, for example, let a Web site automatically bring more servers online to respond to an unusually high number of visitors. Similar "autonomic" computing initiatives have also been launched by Microsoft's closest rivals, IBM, Sun Microsystems and Hewlett-Packard. DSI also will include hardware manufacturers in a coordinated effort Microsoft hopes will deliver management tools and systems that will trump competitors. By including hardware and software development in the initiative, Microsoft hopes to create standards that wring the most productivity and efficiency out of Windows systems. That in turn could make Windows servers more appealing to larger businesses running Unix systems or mainframes. Under DSI, "The systems and applications working together in concert would be able to allocate and reallocate resources based on mode, demand and business need," said Bob O'Brien, Microsoft's group product manager for Windows Server.