At an event in New York, the company plans to introduce the offering, called AquaLogic, as well as a new marketing tagline: Think Liquid. Company CEO Alfred Chuang, Chief Technology Officer Mark Carges, and Chief Marketing Officer Marge Breya, who joined BEA late last year, will host the launch. The AquaLogic product line, which will be available this summer, is composed mainly of upgraded products already in the Java software company's portfolio.
The notion that BEA—as well as its competitors—is pursuing with AquaLogic is that a software architect can assemble applications by connecting existing services. The software will use Web Services protocols to ease data sharing between applications and messaging software for program-to-program communications.
In contrast with BEA's existing WebLogic line, the AquaLogic software does not require anyone to write Java code, thus making the task of building a business application substantially easier, said Bill Roth, director of product marketing at BEA. "We believe we're out in front of the next market wave", Roth said.
The components of the AquaLogic line include standards-based messaging software, formerly code-named QuickSilver; a centralized security system and Web Services management software; and AquaLogic Data, XML-based data-access software for tapping into disparate data sources. The software requires BEA's WebLogic Java application server, portal and integration software to run. The product launch and marketing push are part of BEA's plans to reinvigorate the company and stimulate revenues.
In the middle of last year, the company saw the departure of a number of high-level technical executives, and revenue from new licenses has dropped for five consecutive quarters. In its last quarter, ended on the 30th April this year, BEA reported a 35 percent increase in profits, although its licence revenue again fell slightly, year over year.
"BEA has to figure out how to scramble out of the hole they're in" said Anne Thomas Manes, an analyst at the Burton Group. "This is a company that's definitely in danger of falling off the pedestal". The company still wields significant market influence, as it did over the past five years, in setting Java and Web Services standards, Manes said. However, it does not have the same product breadth and, in some cases, completeness, as its main competitors, IBM and Oracle, she said.
Because of the complexity involved, Manes said, she was somewhat skeptical about the idea that technical professionals other than programmers, such as business analysts, would be able to build an application. On AquaLogic, Manes said that BEA's move into standards-based messaging software, often called an enterprise service bus (ESB), will put pressure on standalone ESB vendors. But overall, the product line introduction is "mostly rebranding," she said.
