Standards Matter: The Battle For Interoperability Goes On -- IT Standards

Used to be, vendors didn't brazenly fracture standards. Sure, they sought lock-in opportunities, but most knew that if they played too fast and loose, the market would mete out punishment, as in the '90s when TCP/IP rule breakers lost sales.
Times have changed, and not for the better. Take network access control. Cisco (NSDQ: CSCO) has all but abandoned its NAC framework and partner program....