Sun, IBM Battle for Web Services Developers

In this round, the two behemoths are targeting the developer community, with Sun taking the wraps off of its Sun Open Net Environment Application Services Reference Architecture and IBM unveiling a WebSphere Software Developers Kit.

Web services is seen as a fast-growing market that could deliver impressive spoils -- in what could be a US$5.4 billion market -- to the victor.

Next Big Thing

"Web services is the expected next big thing," Joseph Feiman, vice president and research director at Gartner (NYSE: IT) , told the E-Commerce Times. And with good reason.

Web services can save the enterprise considerable dollars and can make operations more efficient. According to Gartner, for example, Web services will drive a 30 percent increase in the efficiency of IT development projects.

Still, Web services providers must tread lightly because the sector is sensitive to economic decline. In May, companies providing Web services were among the hardest-hit by layoffs , according to a report from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas .

Everyone In the Ring

With so much at stake, it seems that nearly every vendor is jumping into the Web services market in some way -- from J.D. Edwards and SAP (NYSE: SAP) to IBM, Sun and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) .

While Sun and IBM have banded together to fight Microsoft's assault on the sector, the two companies also have remained bitter enemies in their own right. The latest volley places Web services developers squarely in the crosshairs.

It is one thing to talk about Web services, but the challenge for vendors becomes, "How do you put [your tools] into developers' hands?" Yankee Group senior analyst Rob Perry told the E-Commerce Times.

Aimed at Big Guys

The Sun One Application Services Reference Architecture aims to help developers satisfy the needs of Fortune 500 companies by offering Sun One Application Server and the Solaris operating system, along with other Sun software.

The architecture was built to help customers upgrade as an organization's needs grow. The approach was designed by the company's Sun One engineers in conjunction with the company's Professional Services group and the iForce Ready Center.

The team built on the company's Business Ready Infrastructure (BRI) in an effort to help customers remain flexible and respond quickly to changes.

Gary Beck, vice president of the Integrated Products Group at Sun Microsystems, claimed that the company has "eliminated the guesswork and risk on our customers' side" with its holistic approach. He noted that Sun works with customers in the iForce Ready Centers to test its products and ensure that no surprises or extra costs will crop up during the implementation process.

IBM Fires Back

IBM answered with a WebSphere Software Developer Kit to aid Linux and Windows developers in building Web services. The kit works on the company's successful WebSphere platform and includes an application server, database and online directory.

Perry called the offerings "a logical extension of their development tools. IBM has had a lot of stuff in this space, and Sun has been rolling out development tools for a while," he added.

He noted that "IBM has had a very logical and progressive strategy" in the Web services arena, but that Sun was a bit later to the game and is "playing catch-up."

Attributing Sun's woes primarily to waffling over what to do with iPlanet, Perry noted that the Java king initially did not put its weight behind the Web Services Interoperability (WS-I) Organization, a consortium created to ensure compatibility among Web services.

"Now Sun is trying to get in on it," said Perry, "and that is presenting a problem."