Open source picks some new fights
Published: 22 Nov 2004 15:45 GMT
All sides agree that commercial server software suites will continue to have the most advanced features, at least for the foreseeable future. But the software programmers and entrepreneurs behind these open-source middleware projects intend to compete head-to-head with established providers.
"The new addition of a portal to the ObjectWeb code base provides the missing pieces to get a full stack that becomes a true alternative to proprietary products," says Christophe Ney, executive director of ObjectWeb. "Members were really interested in having more than just an application server."
Ney added that ObjectWeb is developing products usually associated with big-ticket software, such as integration and business process automation software based on the Business Process Execution Language, or BPEL, specification.
No large commercial entity has yet voiced plans to offer support services for an assemblage of ObjectWeb's server components. However, Red Hat started offering services around its Jonas application server earlier this year.
The stack sell
IBM, BEA Systems and Oracle sell commercial versions of Java server software suites, which include a Java application server, a Web portal, integration software and application-development tools. Microsoft offers a similar set of Windows server software built on its .Net development model. This infrastructure software and related tools, which can cost up to hundreds of thousands of dollars to license, form the technical underpinnings for business applications.
Big, commercial technology makers have in recent years recognised a growing demand for open-source alternatives. IBM is already a major contributor to open-source projects, such as Linux, grid computing and a specialised Java database project called Derby. However, its middleware products, including its WebSphere Java server suite and DB2 database businesses -- which generate billions of dollars in revenue -- remain proprietary.
BEA has made some of its products open-source in an effort to curry favour with developers. But it relies on its proprietary software to drive revenue.
"The value is moving away from the software itself and going instead to the integration of components," says Martin Fink, vice president for Linux at Hewlett-Packard. The company recently expanded its consulting services for JBoss, MySQL and Linux software running on HP hardware.
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