Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • Development
    • IT Management
    • Networking

    Brash Upstarts Lead Rising Web Application Platforms

    By
    Clint Boulton
    -
    September 21, 2007
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      LAS VEGAS—Microsoft, IBM, SAP and Oracle have driven the software market for so many years, were accustomed to seeing them lead new forays in high-tech.

      Thats not the case in the emerging sector for Web platforms, where consumer-oriented vendors such as Google, Amazon.com and eBay are ruling the roost, said an analyst at the Gartner Web Innovation show here Sept. 20.

      Gartner analyst David Mitchell Smith said Google, Amazon.com, eBay and others are building Web platforms that provide access to Web-based programming capabilities. These capabilities allow programmers to build composite applications, and even businesses, on the Web at a time when the Internet is growing as fast as ever.

      Web platforms include infrastructure, applications, content, widgets and business process services. While Microsoft, IBM, SAP and Oracle each provide some of these capabilities, theyre not delivering them from a Web platform capable of enabling application programming and development.

      “The consumer-focused vendors are most mature in being what we call a Web platform from technology and community perspectives,” Smith said. “Amazon, eBay and Google started out doing things designed for simple browser access. Now they provide developer APIs, and they have enabled you to use these capabilities through a programmatic interface.”

      For example, Amazon.com has created a services platform for third-party applications, including content services for retail partners, Web site hosting and discovery services, e-commerce Web services, and infrastructure services, including its elastic compute cloud, simple storage service and simple queue service.

      Click here to read more about Amazon.coms foray into infrastructure services.

      Another example of a Web platform at work is Google Gadgets, which are widgets, or interactive mini-applications, that can be placed anywhere on the users desktop to show new e-mail, weather, photos and personalized news. The search vendor also makes Google Gears, an open-source browser extension that lets developers create Web applications that can run offline.

      Meanwhile, SAP, Oracle and other business application vendors are almost casually heading into Web platform territory through SOA (service-oriented architecture). That is, their client/server applications have evolved to support Web access and programmatic access, but little more.

      “Enterprise vendors dont talk about this stuff very much,” Smith said. “If you wanted to talk to them about it, youd probably have to start asking them, What are you doing about Web platforms? What are you doing to allow us to reuse the stuff that youve already done?”

      However, Smith said SAP and Oracle are in a good position to offer Web platforms because of the link between their SOA software—with all of its emphasis on reusing assets—and the Web platform concept. SAP, incidentally, launched its on-demand application suite, Business ByDesign, on Sept. 19.

      Read more here about SAPs Business ByDesign strategy.

      IBM and Microsoft champion more enterprise-focused strategies, Smith said, putting them perhaps a little farther out from the Web platform concept as Gartner defines it.

      However, Microsoft falls in between the consumer and enterprise camp, and is touting a software-plus-service strategy via Microsoft Live. Regardless, no one dismisses Microsofts ability to enter a market, particularly one where software platforms are the rub.

      Smith noted IBM has these capabilities through its purchase of Webify and its developer tools, giving it the potential to play a role in the Web platform market. Moreover, IBM has a solid stealth application strategy and, like Microsoft, has the ability to quickly enter a market when it so chooses.

      Asked by eWEEK when the public will see IBM, Microsoft, SAP and Oracle delve deeper into the enterprise space for Web platforms, Smith said the companies with the closest ties to the consumer market will move first.

      “I would expect Microsoft to do more than SAP and Oracle because they can leverage the success they get in the consumer spaces and small businesses,” Smith said.

      “SAP and Oracle have some small-business experience, so they go after that. IBM will probably go later because they are not as involved in small businesses that way, not from an application standpoint, and certainly not consumers,” he added.

      Check out eWEEK.coms for the latest news, reviews and analysis in programming environments and developer tools.

      Clint Boulton
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×