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Lynton Research Digest

2002
2003
2004
 
January
February
March
22nd
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10th, 17th, 24th
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1st, 8th, 15th, 23rd, 29th
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12th
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4th, 11th, 18th, 24th, 31st
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22rd, 28th
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4th, 11th, 18th, 26th
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6th, 14th, 19th, 27th
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Market Research Digest - 19th July 2002

Actional sees dual opportunity for SOAPswitch Web services tool

Led by a former Tibco executive, application integration firm Actional sees a prominent role for itself in the red hot Web services management space, and according to the451 its new SOAPswitch tool for supporting and managing Web services is more than a new twist on its legacy adapters http://searchwebservices.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid26_gci838383,00.html

An example of a "legacy" (and very much second string) EAI company trying to get a grip on Web Services to update its approach to market

BEA Adding Contivo GUI to WebLogic Integration 7.0

07/12/02, 8:30 a.m. EDT--BEA Systems is bundling Contivo Analyst from automated data integration solutions provider Contivo into its WebLogic Integration 7.0 product. The front end to Contivo's Enterprise Integration Modeling solution, Contivo Analyst will give BEA customers a graphical interface for achieving reusable data integration between their enterprise and B2B applications.

BEA WebLogic Integration 7.0, part of WebLogic Platform 7.0, helps unify, simplify and extend enterprise application development and integration, and provides a common platform for building and deploying Web services. Contivo Analyst offers a Java-based GUI that lets users automatically build and manage XML maps by importing, exporting and managing XML documents, including DTDs and schemas, within a software infrastructure platform. http://www.contivo.com/about/BEAHi.pdf http://www.contivo.com/news/articles/InfoWorld.htm

_This shows BEA continuing to explore up the stack from the basic app server - in this case providing analyst/design capability that otherwise might come from Rational, Oracle etc. On the other hand, UML and model driven architectures are not well adopted by all developers - see survey and discussion at _ http://www.theserverside.com/home/thread.jsp?thread_id=14474

BPML 1.0: A Step Toward Process Interoperability (Forrester Research brief)

Almost two years after inception, BPMI.org -- now backed by more than 130 members -- has released the first public draft of its Business Process Modeling Language. Our take? Firms should bet on BPML for describing end-to-end business processes

Creating Value With Business Process Management (Hurwitz)

What is business process management (BPM)? What features should a BPM solution have? What are the drivers for its adoption? How does BPM provide an ROI? All these questions will be answered by Tyler McDaniel, director of Hurwitz Group and acknowledged expert on BPM. http://www.eaixpo.com/Symposium.asp?SymposiumId=23 (registration required...)

Tyler is one of our big advocates in the analyst community.

BP language initiative works with Choreography interface

By Rich Seeley (XML Report for Wednesday, July 10, 2002) Attention has focused on recent news that vendors, including BEA Systems, SAP, Sun Microsystems and Intalio, have published an XML-based Web Services Choreography Interface (WSCI) as a proposed way for Web services to interact with each other. The rush of interest may have overshadowed the news that the non-profit Business Process Management Initiative (BPMI.org) announced BPML 1.0, which provides a complementary Business Process Management Language to work with the choreography standard. Working together, the two standards could help to support complex business processes running across multiple systems to form a larger Web services application. WSCI is designed to carry Web services beyond basic messaging, according to Richard Green, the Sun representative for the new standard. It will choreograph Web services interactions for the creation of "complex business processes." The current UDDI-to-SOAP-to-WSDL definition of Web services is adequate for retrieving a basic stock quote, according to WSCI proponents, but it is not up to handling the interactions of multiple Web services for more sophisticated applications. WSCI, which its proponents hope will eventually win the blessing of an as-yet-unnamed industry standards body, is intended to fill this technology gap. Meanwhile, BPML proponents, which include Intalio, say it is designed to express all the executables and activities in complex Web services applications, including "transactions and their compensation, data management, concurrency, exception handling, and operational semantics." BPML also uses XML Schema to allow persistence as data is interchanged among heterogeneous systems. WSCI and BPML share the same execution model and have similar syntax, so, ideally, Web services developers can set up the business processes and choreograph the interactions without having to learn two separate languages.

Proponents of both standards are seeking input from potential users.

The WSCI specification is available royalty free for download from each co-editor's Web site: http://dev2dev.bea.com/techtrack/wsci.jsp, http://www.intalio.com/wsci, http://ifr.sap.com/wsci and http://www.sun.com/software/xml. The BPML 1.0 specification is available royalty free for download from the BPMI.org's Web site at http://www.bpmi.org/bpml-spec.esp.

Cape Clear takes on murky battle between .NET and Java

Web services company Cape Clear wants to bridge the gap between Java and .NET, and one analyst believes the company is strong when it comes to binding Web services and legacy applications. However, there are potential perils to working with a small vendor. http://searchwebservices.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid26_gci837789,00.html

Following up their recent JMS meets Web Services announcement (see digest of 4th July), this interview quotes CEO Annrai O'Toole and our old friend Mike Gilpin of Giga Information Group.

Fiorano's ROI calculator for Tifosi

Fiorano has recently posted an interactive ROI calculator for Tifosi (their "Services Integration Platform" - again, a SpiritWave Integration Server competitor). http://www.fiorano.com/highlights/roi.htm

Forrester identifies key new technologies

Forrester has identified six emerging technologies that will improve competitiveness and boost business results. Smart companies have already begun to apply them, or soon will. Click through to see the relevant highlights on web services, messaging, systems management and integration...

  • Adaptive supply networks help partners match supply and demand. Firms use adaptive supply networks -- comprised of partners using technology to sense market changes and coordinate their response -- in order to reduce inventories, raise customer satisfaction, and avoid nasty surprises

  • Web services improve the customer experience. Firms use Web services --software that lets applications exchange data over the Internet -- to improve the flow of information within and among companies, which in turn cuts administrative costs and improves customer service.

  • Organic IT wrings more value out of technology. Organic IT is a revolutionary approach to building computing infrastructure on cheap, redundant components that share resources. By standardizing and centrally managing the four key layers of infrastructure -- servers, networks, storage, and software -- firms will get lighter-weight, more responsive platforms for their business applications. [...]

  • Scenario Design delivers superior experiences. To keep customers from leaving in frustration, smart firms uncover their customers' real motivations and then design experiences that support those goals. [...]

  • XRM extends collaborative relationships. Firms that depend on multiple tiers of suppliers and customers will use applications with extended relationship management (XRM) capabilities like workflow engines and distributed data models to monitor, manage, and optimize activities across their networks of partners.

  • X Internet makes the Net executable and extended. The executable Internet exploits smart code like Java and a distributed infrastructure to reduce latency and create better user experiences. The extended Internet will connect billions of real-world objects to the Net, enabling users to locate, measure, and adjust everything from shop floor equipment to pallets to fuel injectors.

http://www.forrester.com/ER/Research/Brief/0,1317,15392,FF.html

HP to eliminate several middleware products

Hewlett-Packard plans to discontinue its Netaction Application Server, Netaction Web Services Platform and Web Services Registry, which never caught on with customers. Transition program details will be announced by Sept. 15, according to the company.

  • News: HP to drop Bluestone software products line (Silicon [BadWikiTag]Mercury News - 0:03 16 Jul 2002)

  • HP eliminates several middleware products (Infoworld - 18:01 15 Jul 2002)

  • HP Scraps Netaction Software Suite (Internet.com:Silicon Valley - 12:08 15 Jul 2002)

_This might open them (HPC and various software groups) up to third party products like ours, however their cosy deal with BEA may prevent them taking truly competitive decisions. Read theServerSide forum at: http://www.theserverside.com/home/thread.jsp?thread_id=14451_

Using J2EE to Drive J2ME Applications

An article by David Hemphill - posted on TheServerSide - introduces a number of communication models for wireless applications. It looks at alternatives to the MVC pattern, and how JMS can be used for asynchronous communication between wireless clients and a J2EE server.

http://www.theserverside.com/resources/article.jsp?l=Hemphill http://www.theserverside.com/home/thread.jsp?thread_id=14468

J2EE 1.4 Community draft approved

J2EE 1.4 is an umbrella for all the following JSRs; you can see how relevant many of these JSRs are to our products:

The following JSRs provide the basic web services support for J2EE.

  • JSR-109 (Web Services)

  • JSR-101 (JAX-RPC)

  • JSR-67 (JAXM)

  • JSR-93 (JAXR)

The following JSRs provide new capabilities to J2EE 1.4.

  • JSR-77 (management)

  • JSR-88 (deployment API)

  • JSR-115 (J2EE Authorization SPI)

  • JSR-56 (JNLP)

The following JSRs enhance APIs that are in J2EE 1.3.

  • JSR-112 (J2EE Connector Architecture 2.0)

  • JSR-152 (JSP 1.3)

  • JSR-154 (Servlet 2.4)

  • JSR-153 (EJB 2.1)

  • JSR-9XX (JAXP 1.2 - XML Schema support)

  • JSR-9XX (JMS 1.1 - queue/topic unification)

Several committee members, including Apache, qualified their support with a demand that the final license terms should allow independent, compatible open source implementations under terms essentially the same as recently agreed to for non-platform (ie non-J2EE) JSRs. See http://jcp.org/jsr/results/151-7-1.jsp for the voting record.

Microsoft releases tools, online resources for Visual Studio .NET developers

Microsoft has given developers access to exclusive educational materials and an integration tool kit to help them build applications using the Visual Studio.NET development environment, which the company launched in February. Previously, only an exclusive group of Microsoft partners had access to the resources, but it is hoped this move will spur more .NET development. http://www.computerworld.com/softwaretopics/software/appdev/story/0,10801,72605,00.html

The .Net Architecture Center is an online resource site at http://msdn.microsoft.com/architecture where developers can find sample applications ...

"A common interop target for new .NET applications is existing server-side Java and J2EE code. This session discuss strategies for bridging .NET applications and J2EE systems" http://www.microsoft.com/usa/Webcasts/ondemand/894.asp (MS partner webcast)

Microsoft releases BizTalk Accelerator for RosettaNet version 2.0

Built on top of Microsoft BizTalk Server, the second version of the Accelerator for RosettaNet combines pre-built support for all current RosettaNet Partner Interface Processes (PIPs). http://www.eaijournal.com/News.asp?NewsID=799

Mercator Reports Preliminary Second Quarter Results in Line With Expectations, Implements Next Stage of Business Strategy

Significant Partner Agreements and Customer Wins Lay Foundation for Future Success

WILTON, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 12, 2002-- Mercator® Software, Inc. (Nasdaq: MCTR - News), today announced that it is reporting preliminary second quarter revenue of approximately $27.0 million, in line with previous guidance of $27.4 million.

License revenue is expected to be approximately $10.8 million, representing a sequential increase of approximately 14%. The company said it expects to post a pro forma loss per share between ($0.10) and ($0.12). Pro forma results assume a tax rate of 38% and exclude amortization of intangible assets, stock option re-pricing benefits, and restructuring charges. The company said it expects to record a second quarter pre-tax restructuring charge of approximately $1.3 million for unoccupied lease space.

The company also detailed the implementation of the next stage of its previously announced business strategy, designed to provide greater focus on its partnerships and industry integration solutions for targeted vertical markets. As part of the implementation, the company will reduce by year-end the size of its global workforce by 15%, to approximately 540 employees. The positions being eliminated do not directly support the transition to strategic partnerships and industry integration solutions. As a result of the reductions, the company will record a pre-tax charge of approximately $1.7 million in the third quarter, with annual cost savings anticipated to be approximately $10 million.

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020712/122034_1.html

Hitachi Systems & Services, Beacon IT & PolarLake collaborate to deliver enterprise-grade Web Service solutions in Japan

Dublin, 15th July 2002 - PolarLake, the Irish-headquartered enterprise XML and Web Services company, Hitachi Systems & Services, Ltd., a member of the Hitachi Group and a leading Systems Integrator of XML and Java(tm)-based solutions in Japan, and Beacon IT, a leading vendor of business-critical systems and products in Japan, today announced a partnership to deliver enterprise-grade Web Services-based solutions in the Japanese market.

http://www.polarlake.com/news/pressroom/pressreleases/2002-07-15-beaconhitachi.shtml Polarlake is a SpiritSoft partner

Open Mobile Alliance - A Global Talking Shop

Butler Group OpinionWire - 11 July 2002 Recently, nearly 200 organisations operating in the wireless eco-system committed their support to the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA). The OMA initiative and the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) Forum have joined together to form the foundation of the new body, championing mobile services interoperability. In addition, a number of other related organisations have signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) announcing their intent to consolidate with the OMA, including the Location Interoperability Forum (LIF), Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) Interoperability Group (MMS-IOP), SyncML Initiative Ltd., and Wireless Village initiative.

THE BIG PICTURE:- The wireless industry faces a number of challenges. Much of the standard specifications work has previously been driven by technology, not by services and applications, and has been done in separate silos. There has also been a lack of focus on matching specifications with the requirements of the market place. The implications of this fragmentation are a lack of interoperable standards, with results such as undermining of the user experience, increases in costs, and reduced innovation in services.

The OMA will gather market requirements and develop specifications intended to take away barriers to interoperability, enabling the accelerated deployment of mobile services across geographic markets, mobile devices, and mobile operators. The OMA is working towards products and services that can be based on open global standards, protocols, and interfaces, which are not locked into proprietary technologies. The applications layer should be bearer-agnostic, and the architecture framework Operating System (OS)-independent.

Among the leading industry players pledging their backing are Nokia, Motorola, Ericsson, Vodaphone, Verizon Wireless, Microsoft, IBM, NTT DoCoMo, Qualcomm, Sony, and Sun Microsystems.

BUTLER GROUP OPINION:- This latest attempt to improve the much tarnished image of the wireless industry is doomed to failure. There is no reason to think that big is beautiful, or that, by including all the key companies, this latest initiative will be able to make any more head-way than the 50 plus other standards groups that are attempting to bring interoperability to the mobile market.

This alliance of alliances, with even more interested parties, will further elongate specification agreement times and allow individual participants to slow down development for their own competitive advantage.

More importantly, Butler Group believes that these standard bodies are irrelevant for enterprise users, being no more than glorified talking shops. Corporate mobile services will have to work with all wireless platforms and mobile devices. Enterprise users must choose a development environment and middleware solution that provides interoperability with all competing architectures and handsets.

Savvion closes $16.7 funding round

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - July 10, 2002 - Savvion™, Inc., a global leader in Business Process Management (BPM) solutions, today announced the closing of its second round of financing of $16.7 million. The investment is led by VantagePoint Venture Partners with investments from D-Age Capital, HIG Ventures and Redwood Venture Partners. These funds will assure Savvion's continued worldwide marketing and sales efforts and support business expansion of its award winning products in the high growth business process management sector. Savvion's BPM solutions are designed to help companies automate, streamline and manage their critical business processes.

http://www.savvion.com/news/press_releases/07-10-02.htm

Savvion is one of the better known BPM / Rule engine vendors, with a business model that includes OEMing its components

Savvion BusinessManager 4.0 Offers Industry's First Collaborative BPM Lifecycle Management

Collaborative BPM Lifecycle Manager, Web Services and Platform Enhancements Reduce Total Cost of Ownership While Delivering Highly Scalable, Reliable Cross-Enterprise Processes SANTA CLARA, Calif. - July 16, 2002 - Savvion™, Inc., a provider of Web-based software that lets companies operate at peak efficiency, today announced general availability of Savvion BusinessManager™ 4.0, delivering the industry's first collaborative Business Process Management (BPM) design and deployment system. BusinessManager 4.0 also provides enhanced Web Services support, along with new management reporting and operational features. The upgrade allows companies to significantly reduce the total cost of ownership of their business process management applications, while more easily implementing highly scalable, reliable, cross-enterprise solutions that reduce costs, increase management visibility and integrate their business to include their suppliers and partners. http://www.savvion.com/news/press_releases/07-16-02.htm

Web Services Journal reviews SonicXQ 1.0

Conclusion: "SonicXQ is a flexible integration tool that has a good balance between ease of use and extensibility. Coupled with SonicMQ and its HTTP interfacing capabilities, SonicXQ can connect many of the applications companies have today and those they will have tomorrow. If you need to integrate applications, new or existing, consider adding SonicXQ to your list of candidate tools." http://www.sonicsoftware.com/news/wsj_sonic.pdf _SonicXQ is one of the many products competitive with SpiritWave Integration Server; many of our marketing messages are more or less identical. The competitive edge will be in the details, eg:

- with XQ, you MUST use SonicMQ - no other messaging supported (except indirectly through bridging) - uses a pre-release JCA adapter - this will be deprecated once JSR-112 (JCA 1.5) is published. - content routing - uses Javascript (rather than Java, JSP etc) - provides a "Service Container" (cf SpiritWave uses a standard servlet container) - no mention of standards relating to "message itineraries" (process flows). _

Sonic results - more details from the SEC filings

$$$ K Q2 Ending May 6 Months To May
Revenue 3,447 5,641
Expenses -7,643 -14,506
Net Income -4,196 -8,865

W3C Issues Public Working Draft of WSDL 1.2

07/10/02, 8:30 a.m. EDT--The World Wide Web Consortium's Web Services Description Working Group has published public working drafts describing the newest versions of WSDL and WSDL Bindings. WSDL 1.2 is an XML-based language for Web services description, and WSDL 1.2 Bindings specifies how to use WSDL 1.2 with SOAP 1.2, HTTP and MIME.

WSDL 1.2 uses a conceptual framework approach to define the description components, and includes language clarifications to make it easier for developers to understand and use. It supports W3C recommendations, including XML schemas and XML information set, and removes unnecessary and noninteroperable features from WSDL 1.1. WSDL 1.2 Bindings offers a better definition for the HTTP 1.1 Binding and will soon provide a binding for SOAP 1.2 to allow the description of services using the most current version of SOAP.

http://www.w3.org/TR/2002/WD-wsdl12-20020709/


Revision r1.2 - 10 Feb 2003 - 19:40 GMT - Main.WebAdmin
Parents: 2002 > July02
Copyright © 2001-2004 Nigel Thomas. External material referenced from this page is the property of its respective authors.