Since the release of the Microsoft ® .NET Framework, it has been clear that this new approach is the future of Windows ® application development. Yet users of Microsoft ® Visual Studio ® find that they have a great deal to learn – and a great deal to change in their applications. With the release of Delphi ™ 8, Borland not only supports the new technology in .NET, but also preserves investments in previous application development efforts. New development for Windows is well under way. According to Gartner, “by mid-2004, most mainstream AD [Application Development] organizations should begin serious efforts to migrate any Win32/COM (Component Object Model) applications that are expected to be in use beyond 2007 to the .NET Framework.” 1 With the release of Borland ® C#Builder ™ for the Microsoft .NET Framework in 2003, Borland delivered the first commercial alternative to Visual Studio for .NET development. Now, that same power is available for the Delphi language with Borland Delphi 8 for the .NET Framework. But Delphi 8 is more than a .NET version of Delphi. It includes many innovative features, including Borland ® Enterprise Core Objects (ECO ™ ), a model-driven application development framework that promises to slash development and maintenance time. Other new technologies include Borland ® Data Provider for .NET, comprehensive development capabilities for Windows ® Forms, ASP.NET Web Forms, and Web Services. In addition to core technologies for .NET development, Delphi 8 also introduces strong integration with solutions for other phases of the application lifecycle. This strong integration makes it easier to manage and maintain complex enterprise applications from the first stages of requirements gathering right through to deployment and implementation.