Why did IBM buy Gluecode?
IBM bought Gluecode software some time back . Why did it do so? Some of the reasons that have been floated are:
"Gluecode’s free software — and its several levels of fee-based support — provides smaller companies with a low-cost middleware option. As those companies grow and their technology needs expand, IBM will already be positioned to offer them higher-cost, higher-capability products, like WebSphere Application Server Express and other Express products".
"Gartner feels that through the acquisition, IBM aims to protect IBM’s WAS business by embracing and controlling a challenging trend, slow down the rapidly-growing enterprise adoption of Jboss and test the notion of subscription-based software pricing."
"IBM will use Apache Geronimo to fill out the very low end of the WebSphere line."
"Having seen the writing on the wall now that the open source JBoss Web application server is J2EE compliant and growing rapidly in popularity and its WebSphere software is overkill for many small and mid-sized businesses, IBM made an interesting move last week when it acquired privately held Gluecode Software"
"The deal also points to IBM’s belief that Apache Geronimo, the J2EE server from Apache, is the open-source application server of the future"
"What?s a bit puzzling is why IBM ? a company that has pulled out all the stops to bypass BEA in J2EE marketshare ? would opt for the obscure Gluecode instead of going after JBoss itself (a move that would have doubled IBM?s J2EE marketshare)"
What do you think? Will IBM buying Gluecode and effectively controlling Apache Geronimo, affect the way the J2EE application server market works?
Reference:
>> IBM’s purchase, new products target SMBs
>> IBM Challenges J2EE Leaders With Acquisition
>> Integrating Gluecode into WebSphere line an easier merge for IBM than Domino
>> But Wait, There’s More
>> JBoss? Marc Fleury ?welcomes? IBM and Gluecode to the open source J2EE party
Related:
>> JBoss vs Geronimo
What a bizarre idea.
Firstly, it has no basis in copyright law whatsoever. The company that commissions and pays for the work owns the copyright. Every IT outsourcing contract I’ve ever read has specific clauses assigning the copyright to the customer, for them to do with as they wish. So the idea there’s any illegal copying going on is fanciful.
Secondly, companies outsource because it’s [i]cheaper[/i]. Make outsourcing more expensive, and they may as well hire locals, or outsource somewhere else that doesn’t have this strange IP export tax.
Which, I guess, would force Indian companies to innovate for themselves, because all the foreign contracts would have dried up.
That would be true if a company that does not have a commercial app server of its own had bought Gluecode.
Huh? Surely with IBM providing more people to work on Geronimo its more likely to do a ‘tomcat’ than it would be otherwise?
With IBM now controlling Geronimo’s future, Geronimo will be able to become to EJB containers what Tomcat is to web containers. Geronimo will deliver what it has promised.
With IBM now controlling Geronimo’s future, Geronimo perhaps will not be able to become to EJB containers what Tomcat is to web containers.
Geronimo might not deliver what it has promised.