Application Server Technology : The State of the Art Gary Barnett IT Research Director [email protected] July 2002 www.ovum.com
Dec 27, 2015
Application Server Technology : The State of the Art
Gary Barnett
IT Research [email protected] 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
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’
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...
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
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
17
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
20
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’
23
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