Dennis Byron (Research 2.0)

Users Lose Middleware Choice in Oracle Acquisition of BEA

My apologies to Joe Forgione and Herb Osher. How could I forget Hyperdesk!

Users Lose Middleware Choice in Oracle Acquisition of BEA

Did BEA "pretty much launch" the independent middleware market?

In addition to the comment above questioning my middleware history analysis, I've received a few emails and a phone call on the subject. So here goes:

The key word in my analysis is "market." Prior to BEA, most of the independent software vendors that made middleware positioned themselves as tools suppliers. I believe BEA led the way in turning the value proposition on its head, saying "here's the tools, pay us for the number of instances of the resulting run-time code you deploy." That's what makes a market: the value proposition behind the buying and selling in the bazaar, not just making the product.

As I said in the post, Iona predated BEA as did Netwise, Transarc and a few others. But they didn't really push the deployment value proposition. And since IBM funded Camelot at CMU and quickly bought Transarc after it was founded, I would argue Transarc was not "independent."

Independent is another key word in the analysis. Most of the early middleware was part of the leading systems suppliers' stacks (to which it has returned, which is the real point I was trying to make in the post).

So whether you agree with my analysis or not, raise a glass of your favorite libation this weekend to Actional, Allaire, Antares, Ascential, Bluestone, Crossworlds (and the woman in the red dress), Haht, Mercator, Oberon, Persistence, SeeBeyond, Silverstream, Staffware, WebMethods, etc and all the other middleware memories.

[By the way, lest you think I just fell of the turnip truck, I fell of the turnip truck a long time ago.

I started researching "middleware" when Chris Stone was forming the Object Management Group in the late 1980s while still physically located in the Data General facilities on Computer Drive in Westboro.

I was the primary "middleware" analyst for the Datapro division of McGraw Hill from 1991 to 1997 and wrote monthly articles for Application Development Trends during the same time period. I put the term "middleware" in quotes because I don't actually remember using the term "middleware" regularly until 1995 doing some consulting for Noblenet (later part of RogueWave, later aquired by Quovadx).

After a hiatus doing ERP research, I was the IDC "middleware" analyst from 2003 to 2006. Again I put the term in quotes because by then it was called application deployment software :) ]

MySQL and BEA: Wednesday’s Two Big Acquisitions

Sramana--SAP doesn't promote it a lot, particularly outside of Germany, but actually SAP does have a database called SAP DB. They bought it (or the rights to it) from Software AG, I think, and made it open source in 2006 or so. The acqusition was basically a customer protection move back around 2000 or so but it gives SAP a jumping off point as solid as Sun's with MySQl if it chose to do so.--Dennis

Oracle Bids $17/Share for BEA Systems

Given the reported October 9 date on the Oracle letter to BEA management, I guess Larry couldn't even allow one day to go by with SAP surpassing Oracle in the middleware market (as Oracle defines middleware). SAP probably had a few short hours ahead of Oracle based on SAP's acquisition of Business Objects on October 8.

I hadn't even backcast for this week's earlier news yet because it's never over 'til its over. But for BEA, I do think it's over. It was a good run, Alfred. Who would have thought there was so much value in some AT&T Tuxedo distributorships?

Consider Shorting Oracle Following Tibco's Guidance

Good logic but keep IBM in mind as well.

Financial services made up 27.5% of IBM's revenue in CY 2006, a higher split than BEA, Oracle and TIBCO (according to the numbers above). Of course, that revenue includes more than just technology (as does BEA's, TIBCO's and especially Oracle's revenue). IBM's success outside the U.S. may protect it from the U.S. subprime thing but apparently TIBCO's international business did not protect it.