IBM Works Toward Common Runtime, Tools Environment

Once the migration is complete, IBM will begin coordinating software releases so all new products are released "in unison," said Scott Hebner, director of marketing for IBM WebSphere.

Hebner did not divulge a specific time frame for the migration but said solution providers will see "a significant change" from 2003 to 2004 that will enable "a more modular approach to IBM software."

In June, IBM said it would standardize developer tools for its integration middleware, WebSphere software and IBM eServer iSeries products on the Eclipse open-source platform. A month later, the company unveiled plans for WebSphere, MQ and CrossWorlds middleware to support a common runtime, or code architecture, by the beginning of next year, with WebSphere Application Server 5,which shipped last week,as the foundation for that runtime.

Other software products slated to be built on the common runtime and tools environment are WebSphere commerce and portal servers, Lotus Domino products, Tivoli management software and the DB2 database, Hebner said.

Industry observers have criticized IBM for having difficult-to-integrate software that enables it to sell more services.

"It's always, 'Buy this product but, by the way, it's [a ratio of 7 to 1 services to actual product,' " said Brian Stockton, senior solutions architect at ePresence, a Westborough, Mass.-based systems integrator.

Stockton said that while integrating the products more tightly will help solve some issues, he still expects customers to buy best-of-breed solutions because "no one has a whiz-bang solution that will do everything yet."

EPresence looks at a customer's problem and final goal and selects products to meet that goal, Stockton said. "If it comes from one vendor, fine, but if you're buying a suite and it only does 50 percent of what you need, are you getting a good deal?"

David Grossman, analyst at Thomas Weisel Partners, said IBM's plan bodes well for its new strategy to target the SMB market with its WebSphere Express products. "By modularizing products, [IBM makes it easier to scale the products up or down," he said.