Frankenstein Lives

IBM already had its hands full trying to integrate its suite of WebSphere middleware products with the Lotus, Tivoli and Rational Software products it has acquired over the last several years. But just as this experiment was beginning to show signs of life, IBM threw us for a curve by moving to acquire Gluecode Software, which provides application server middleware based on open-source technologies.

Right now, Gluecode is not as robust an application server as WebSphere, but it is a credible alternative to WebSphere Express in the SMB market. And over time, many of the tools associated with WebSphere will be brought over to Gluecode.

This is kind of like watching Dr. Victor Frankenstein—in this case, IBM Software Group chief Steve Mills—stitch together various body parts to create some new kind of being only to announce that he is going to perform a heart transplant once the patient comes to life.

What IBM Software is trying to do represents by far one of the most ambitious software efforts ever attempted. When pressed about it, IBMers blithely refer to an ongoing componentization effort that will somehow magically integrate all the body parts.

In the meantime, IBM partners are making good money on all the services revenue that comes from having to integrate the various parts of IBM technology. But you have to ask, how long will these opportunities last? Eventually, Microsoft, BEA Systems, JBoss, Novell and Sun will get a lot better at explaining that their products do most of what IBM's offer—but at a lower total cost. When that day comes, solution providers will see the volume of projects on those platforms start to significantly outpace work involving IBM technology. And while everybody knows they probably will make more profit on an IBM deal, there's a lot to be said for generating a higher volume of projects—eventually leading to more revenue and profit over the long haul.

For solution providers, that may mean now is a good time to hedge bets before becoming overly bound to whatever monster IBM may (or may not) eventually unleash.

What manner of creature is IBM trying to build? I can be reached at (516) 562-7477 or via e-mail at [email protected].