IBM Boosts Open Source Strategy With OEM Agreement

Software WebSphere Application Server open source

"This is a positive arrangement for both companies," says WebSphere Open Source Development and Strategy Director Brenda Haynes, noting the two companies share complimentary interests. "This really allows us both to reach new markets and provide a right-sized total cost of ownership for the customer."

WAS CE, is free to download and use and is pre-integrated with Apache Tomcat and other commonly used open source components like Web services, security, and Web tier clustering. Avada can now provide customers with an open source-based application server backed by IBM's support. Under the terms of the deal, IBM and Avada will team on a joint marketing and sales campaign to target new customers worldwide.

Avada COO Peter D'Agosta says those marketing efforts include a series of jointly sponsored Webinars and regional trade events that have not yet been finalized. D'Agosta says both companies benefit from the partnership. "It allows us to do things quicker because we don't have to wait for the customer to build an infrastructure to lay our software on top of," he says, adding they get a credibility boost from IBM's logo on their install DVD. "And now, IBM is into a market where they have a leading-edge technology and they didn't have to put any R&D money in."

Haynes says WAS-CE reached 2 million downloads by December 2007 and expects the demand for open source software will continue. "We think there's been great interest in people who are looking for an open source "based application server," she says. "This really fills and important part of our WebSphere family."