Page II: Open-source software is starting to expand into the big-ticket infrastructure-software market dominated by Microsoft and others.
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," said 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.
The open-source components from ObjectWeb, Apache and commercial company JBoss generally already have a following of software programmers. Adoption within businesses, however, hinges largely on whether there is adequate commercial support behind the products, according to industry analysts and executives.
The market is stunted with the cost of software on the server side
--Winston Damarillo, CEO, Gluecode
Gluecode provides support and maintenance services for a bundle of open-source products, which are available under the Apache open-source licence. With a suite called Joe, the company sells services for the Geronimo Java application server, Pluto portal software, Derby database, and Agila workflow software.
The company has certified that its stack runs on Intel's IA64 processor, used in server hardware, and it's trying to sign on hardware providers to bundle and distribute the Joe suite. At a price of US$3,500 a month for support and regular software updates, Joe will undercut both established Java companies as well as Microsoft, argued Gluecode CEO Winston Damarillo.
"The market is stunted with the cost of software on the server side," Damarillo said. "We're making that zero."
The Geronimo application server has a modular design, which lets customers install add-on products such as a portal and integration software as needed, he said. Gluecode also sells management software to ease installation and administration.
SpikeSource and SourceLabs both intend to offer services around the so-called "LAMP" stack of open-source software. The stack includes the Linux operating system, the Apache Web server, the MySQL database and PHP development tools.
JBoss, too, sells consulting and support service around freely available software. The company has an application server that is popular with Java programmers, and it's expanding the number of products, including a workflow server, that it develops and supports.
Apache, ObjectWeb and JBoss are each developing separate middleware products based on their respective Java application servers and have different open-source licences. JBoss recently certified that its software adheres to the Java 2 Enterprise Edition, or J2EE, standard. Geronimo and Jonas are seeking J2EE certification as well.
No dents yet
So far, big commercial software companies deny that open-source alternatives are eating into their market share and profit margins. In fact, Sun Microsystems said it has considered making editions of its Java application server suite available as an open-source product.
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