Duking It Out For The Lead

But one thing is certain: Market share is only one of several factors solution providers consider when deciding which app server to use for building e-business solutions.

In a recent 2001 app server report from Giga Information Group, BEA Systems and IBM tied for No. 1 in the market with 34 percent market share each. Their closest competitor, Sun Microsystems/iPlanet, took a distant second place with 7 percent, and Oracle took 6 percent.

Giga's numbers, like those of many other analysts, are based on app server revenue reported by vendors. Yet The Hurwitz Group had a different take on the app server arena, determining the leader by market penetration, not revenue. According to that firm, Oracle is currently No. 1, followed by IBM, then BEA.

For solution providers that rely primarily on market share statistics as a gauge for selecting app servers, the data can be confusing. But for others, the discrepancy among market research firms doesn't pose a problem.

"Market share really doesn't [matter," said Bob Lytle, vice president of technology at Dewpoint, a Detroit-based solution provider and Sun reseller. "It's nice to know, but what matters to us as a consulting company is getting our people trained on all of the [major app servers."

And since J2EE is a standard for app server technology, the products are becoming more commoditized, said Lytle. To sell app servers branded as J2EE-compatible, vendors must put their products through rigorous compatibility tests to ensure they support the J2EE spec, the latest of which is J2EE 1.3.

"Realistically, the point of the Java app server is that it's not supposed to matter [which one you use," said Lytle. "From our perspective, you ask [a client, 'What is the app server you're using?' If they're using Java, we say, 'Good, let's go.' Java is Java. If they're all supporting the standards, we know we can do it."

For Lytle, a customer's corporate strategy is a more crucial factor than market share when deciding which Java app server to use.

If, for example, a company already has multiple IBM hardware and middleware products in place, Lytle suggests the client go with IBM's WebSphere. If there's Sun hardware at the solution's back end, he'll suggest iPlanet's app server or BEA's product.

But some solution providers do rely on market share data.

Brad Murphy, president and CEO of DigitalESP, a solution provider in Raleigh, N.C., said market share does matter to him, but only after a particular market proves itself. Even then, however, market share is only one factor among several, said Murphy.

Another is what he calls customer context. "[A customer may already have chosen WebSphere or WebLogic as their corporate standard," he said. "In that case, we'll comply with the customer standard. If there isn't a standard, we'll look at the customer's existing systems and determine the best fit from a total cost of ownership and customer skills perspective."

Murphy said it's important for app server vendors to stay current not only with the latest J2EE standard but also with Web services standards such as XML and UDDI. "Vendors that demonstrate leadership in those areas are generally the ones we believe are more useful to our clients," he said.