Sun pushes app server tools

E-business infrastructure costs look set to tumble after Sun Microsystems announced it will give away key parts of its application server.

Sun said it will bundle core components of its Sun One Application Server, formerly an iPlanet product, with its new Solaris 9 operating system, which begins shipping this week. "We are converging [Solaris 9] with critical areas of Java technology and XML middleware to extend the platform for even faster deployment," said Scott McNealy, chairman and chief executive of Sun.

Solaris 9 will ship with the Sun One Application Server 7 J2EE Edition, with a single server licence as well as the Sun One Directory server.

Having previously attacked Microsoft for bundling middleware with its operating system, Sun said it had ensured its customers will be able to use third-party applications and middleware with Solaris 9.

The Sun One Application Server had a reputation for being difficult to configure, but by bundling it along with the operating system, Sun will have done most of the integration, said Steve Barrie of analyst firm Bloor Research.

"This could be significant in persuading end-users to adopt the Sun application server," Barrie said. "Everyone has been predicting the commoditisation of the application server market. This increases the likelihood of it. IBM is likely to follow suit," he added. "By pulling application delivery into the operating system, firms will be given the infrastructure to move to a Web services world without extra cost."

The bundling could help Sun to challenge BEA Systems' leadership in the £1.5bn-a-year application server market. BEA's position has already been eroded by cheaper products from rivals such as IBM.

BEA has sold well to customers using Solaris, but the opportunity to obtain an application server free with the latest version of the operating system may persuade some firms to switch, said Barrie.

However, Marko Saarinen, product marketing manager at BEA, argued that because businesses run mission-critical applications on their application servers, they will be much more concerned about quality than price, so they are unlikely to switch on the basis of cost.

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