Application Server Technology : The State of the Art

Gary Barnett

IT Research Directorgab@ovum.comJuly 2002

www.ovum.com

2

The state of the Application Server Art

• Current state of the art

• Where is the Market going?

• The major application server players – their position and

strategy

• Things that end-user need to consider

Type conclusion statement hereThe Current state of the art

4

The current state of the art

• The application server market is in a last phase of

consolidation

• Only three ‘big’ application server vendors – IBM,

Microsoft, BEA

• But some interesting ‘tier 2’ vendors – Oracle, SAP, Sun

5

2001-2002 Major Shakeout

• Growing

• IBM• Superb marketing, now matched

by technology

• Microsoft• Irresistible rise up the food chain

• BEA• Holding share, despite losing

strategic advantage

• Oracle• Significant improvements in

technology have given Oracle a second chance.

• Declining

• Sun• Struggling with technology and

vision

• Borland• Superb base level technology, but

middleware comes second to development tools

• IONA• Losing its way - Too many

‘rebranding’ exercises

• Other departures...• SilverStream, HP, ATG

6

The application server market is closed

• J2EE is effectively a commodity

• IBM and BEA have turned the core APIs into a

commodity

• No-one wants to be in a drag race with the

leading middleware vendors

• New entrants face an extremely hostile

environment

• But there are exceptions….

7

A very interesting newcomer - SAP

• An ERP vendor enters the middleware

market?

• What middleware expertise does SAP have?

• Will SAP be able to compete as a middlware

vendor?

• SAP has a secret weapon

• A huge installed base!

• SAP isn’t making a ‘middleware’ play - it is going

directly to the ‘platform play’

Type conclusion statement hereWhere is the market going?

9

Where is the market going?

• The application server layer is a commodity

• But richer technical services (scalability, reliability) are not

• The future battle ground in the world of application servers

is above the J2EE APIs

The future lies in frameworks...

10

Where is the market going?

J2EE Core

Developm

entT

ools

Managem

entT

ools

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Where is the market going?

J2EE Core

Web Services

Developm

entT

ools

Managem

entT

ools

12

Where is the market going?

J2EE Core

Web Services

Developm

entT

ools

Managem

entT

ools

Portal Commerce IntegrationMulti-

channel

13

Where is the market going?

J2EE Core

Web Services

Developm

entT

ools

Managem

entT

ools

Portal Commerce IntegrationMulti-

channel

Pre-built components

Type conclusion statement hereThe major players...

15

The state of the Application Server Art

• The major application server players – their position and

strategy

• IBM

• BEA

• Microsoft

• Oracle

• Sun

• SAP

16

IBM

J2EE Core

Web Services

Developm

entT

ools

Managem

entT

ools

Portal Commerce IntegrationMulti-

channel

Pre-built components

Rich supportGood SupportSome SupportEmerging supportNo support

• A leading player

• particularly in big business

• Huge investment

• Close to 1Bn USD a year

• A mature vision

• WebSphere is four years old

• Only Microsoft can offer the same breadth of services

• from development tools to deployment platforms

• WebSphere is big and complex

• And IBM still has some integration work to do

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Microsoft

Middleware Core

Web Services

Developm

entT

ools

Managem

entT

ools

Portal Commerce IntegrationMulti-

channel

Pre-built components

Rich supportGood SupportSome SupportEmerging supportNo support

• A huge installed base

• particularly among ISVs

• The best developer vision in

the business

• A 100% holistic approach

• Microsoft can deliver everything

• If you are willing to commit to Microsoft

• Microsoft continues to have ‘image’ problems

• Quality, Security

18

BEA

Middleware Core

Web Services

Developm

entT

ools

Managem

entT

ools

Portal Commerce IntegrationMulti-

channel

Pre-built components

Rich supportGood SupportSome SupportEmerging supportNo support

• WebLogic is at the top of the

Application Server market

• Trying to compete with the

Websphere vision

• But still ‘incomplete’ as a platform

• BEA needs to improve its vision and execution

• BEA is falling behind IBM in the mindshare race

• BEA doesn’t really understand development tools

• WebGain...

19

Oracle

Middleware Core

Web Services

Developm

entT

ools

Managem

entT

ools

Portal Commerce IntegrationMulti-

channel

Pre-built components

Rich supportGood SupportSome SupportEmerging supportNo support

• Huge installed base

• Early attempts to enter market

hindered by poor technology

• Improved technology will make a

difference

• Oracle believes in an “Oracle” Universe

• Portal works very well with Oracle...

• Oracle still places the database at the centre of every

diagram

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Sun

Middleware Core

Web Services

Developm

entT

ools

Managem

entT

ools

Portal Commerce IntegrationMulti-

channel

Pre-built components

Rich supportGood SupportSome SupportEmerging supportNo support

• Creator of Java!

• Sun One technology has has a very

disrupted life so far

• Sun is still, at heart, a hardware

company

• Sun knows it should make money from Java

• But is just not sure how...

• Sun is obsessed with Microsoft

21

SAP

Middleware Core

Web Services

Developm

entT

ools

Managem

entT

ools

Portal Commerce IntegrationMulti-

channel

Pre-built components

Rich supportGood SupportSome SupportEmerging supportNo support

• An ERP vendor!

• Huge installed base

• many clients view SAP as ‘the system’

• Sees an opportunity to defend base,

and find new customers

• SAP has a mixed history in development tools

• SAP is the ‘wildcard’

Type conclusion statement hereOur advice to adopters

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Advice to end-users

• The Core APIs are no longer the biggest differentiator

• Select on the basis of the value added components

• Application servers remain complex

• choose vendors that can support you, wherever and whenever

you need support

• Watch the impact of web services

• On integration

• On multi-channel development

Type conclusion statement hereQuestions ?