VORTEX Digest John Gallant Spotlights Top Network News and Issues Comments to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Nov. 4, 2004 Volume 6, Number 15 ********************************************************* In This Issue: * The word "platform" has been a euphemism for control * SAP and Oracle disagree on services-oriented applications * Why Oracle really wants to buy PeopleSoft * Invite a friend to join the discussion * Subscription information *********************************************************
"Under the spreading chestnut tree, I sold you and you sold me." George Orwell, 1984 Dear Vorticians, As we discussed the future of enterprise IT at VORTEX 2004, there was a great deal of talk about the need for standards, openness and interoperability. Without standards, openness and interoperability, the top vendors told us, customers won't be able to build a dynamic infrastructure and the next-generation of services-oriented applications. But at the same time, all the gorillas talked at great length about platforms - specifically, about building the next great platform for on-demand computing, grid computing, Web services applications or whatever. And, just in case this hasn't become painfully clear to you, throughout the history of computing the word "platform" has been a euphemism for control. And that's not going to change in this shiny new world of tomorrow. Let's review. Windows is a platform. Cisco's IOS is a platform. Oracle's database is a platform. At each layer of the networked computing model, there is generally one dominant platform - from Intel's microprocessor up to SAP's business software. If you're a vendor, owning a platform is truly a wonderful thing. Customers rely on platforms, they're difficult to move off of, and thus they're terrific mechanisms for account control. Platforms are kernels around which entire industry ecosystems take shape - ecosystems that include developers, integrators, resellers, and others. Now, you might be thinking: John, not all platforms are bad. Linux is a platform and Linux is good! To which I would reply, I didn't say platforms are bad. Platforms are a reality, just like market dominance is a reality. The IT industry would not have advanced nearly as quickly as it has without the market accepting certain platforms to build upon. Imagine trying to manage a corporate IT shop with 15 different desktop operating systems. Or five. Even three. Concerns about the Microsoft monoculture aside, the realities of managing a diverse desktop environment would make even the toughest IT pro quail. I'd add that you should take a harder look at the Linux market if you think it is a model of egalitarianism immune from this issue of platform control. As Jonathan Schwartz, president of Sun, described at VORTEX, Red Hat increasingly dominates the Linux distribution scene. (Jonathan references this growing control several times in recent blog entries.) And you can just bet that Red Hat has designs for even more control over the "platform." To further illuminate this issue, consider SAP and Oracle at VORTEX. SAP Executive Board Member Shai Agassi was one of the strongest proponents of a services-oriented application future. There is no waffling from him or SAP that SOA is the right path and the right answer. Contrast that with the comments of Oracle President Charles Phillips who pooh-poohed that vision, saying SOA is just an old idea (object computing) in a new wrapper and not an idea that's particularly compelling to Oracle or its customers. But the two men are in strong agreement about the value of platforms, specifically about owning them. SAP is investing tens of millions of dollars in NetWeaver, which Agassi describes as the ideal platform for major corporate customers to build on for services-oriented apps. SAP is putting all its weight behind the establishment of the NetWeaver platform and is rapidly building out the ecosystem around it. SAP must convince its blue-chip customers to make NetWeaver the centerpiece of their future application efforts. For Phillips and Oracle, the Oracle database is now and will ever be the platform. He described the database as the "file system" for the future, the interface between the apps and the dynamic infrastructure, the repository for everything and anything. Everything Oracle does will advance the vision of the database as platform. Case in point: Oracle's much-publicized effort to gobble up PeopleSoft. Be clear, Oracle's goal in buying PeopleSoft, a deal that seems increasingly likely to be consummated, is not to get the app vendor's technology. Rather, as Phillips bluntly stated, the goal is to get PeopleSoft customers over to the Oracle platform. The more customers on the platform, the more likely Oracle is to win the game. He indicated that more acquisitions are on the way. (An interesting aside, we asked SAP's Agassi what he thought of Oracle's PeopleSoft bid. He said he thought it wise to follow Napoleon's advice and "never interrupt an enemy when he's making a great mistake." SAP believes it will pick up half of PeopleSoft's customers - those unhappy about Oracle grabbing the company.) So, as we continue to discuss emerging concepts and architectures for the future of enterprise IT, it's wise to keep in mind that - for the vendors at least - it's all about the platform and, thus, control. That's why it's so important to understand their strategies and make the right choices, to control your own destiny rather than being controlled. VORTEX Digest is a platform too - a platform for your great ideas and thoughts. Share them with me at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Bye for now. ********************************************************* Tell a Friend ********************************************************* Is there a friend or colleague you'd like to have join the discussions held here at VORTEX Digest? Have them subscribe to receive the weekly Digest at: http://www.nwwsubscribe.com/Changes.aspx ********************************************************* ABOUT VORTEX DIGEST ********************************************************* VORTEX Digest is written weekly by Executive Producer John Gallant and offers an ongoing dialogue on matters raised at The VORTEX Conference, and within the VORTEX Community. VORTEX is an exclusive, invitation-only event for senior executives that brings together all the key elements: leadership, thought, funding, and regulatory expertise, to shape the future of the network business and the technologies that drive it. VORTEX shakes off the hype and helps you understand where you can win new customers, and find new revenue in a time of dramatic and seemingly unpredictable change. ********************************************************* SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION ********************************************************* To subscribe or unsubscribe to any Network World e-mail newsletters: http://www.nwwsubscribe.com/Changes.aspx To access the VORTEX Digest archives: http://www.nwfusion.com/newsletters/vortex/index.html To unsubscribe from promotional e-mail: http://www.nwwsubscribe.com/Preferences.aspx To change your e-mail address, go to: http://www.nwwsubscribe.com/ChangeMail.aspx Subscription questions? Contact Customer Service by replying to this message. Have editorial comments? Contact John Gallant at mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] For advertising information: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Copyright: Network World, Inc. 2004 ------------------------ This message was sent to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
