No dents yet
So far, big commercial software companies deny that open-source alternatives are eating into their market share and profit margins. In fact, Sun Microsystems has said it has considered making editions of its Java application server suite available as an open-source product.
Although open-source middleware still accounts for only a small fraction of the total market, overall use of open-source applications and of Linux continues to grow. More than 80 percent of big companies surveyed say they have at least some Linux deployed within their organisations, according to market researcher Gartner.
And there's a well-established pattern for open-source adoption. Take Linux for example: First used on commodity hardware servers in the 1990s for simple tasks such as Web or file servers, Linux is now mainstream and provide a low-cost alternative to Unix or Windows for everything from departmental servers to high-end computing and desktop software.
Open-source Java application servers, databases and development tools are also rapidly making their mark. JBoss, which sells support for its namesake application server, and open-source database company MySQL have gained in popularity over just the past year.
The one issue holding back wider acceptance of both Linux and open-source applications is just how much risk big companies are willing to accept, according to a Gartner report issued last month. That risk includes support for a hodgepodge of applications from a variety of sources. That support is what Gluecode and others are looking to provide.
The other problem area is intellectual property and the risk of legal troubles, which will continue to challenge wider growth of Linux and open source over the next five years, Gartner says. Some companies, including Red Hat and Novell, have begun to offer legal protection for their Linux customers.
Alfred Chuang, CEO of BEA, said earlier this month that open-source Java application servers, notably JBoss, are not taking business away from his company at this point. "We don't see anything in deployments in enterprises at all. It's not in any way or shape a threat to us."
Martin Taylor, Microsoft's general manager of platform strategy, agreed that once a number of open-source middleware components are assembled, "it starts to look like our stuff". But, he says that most customers do not want to spend the time and effort integrating low-level software. He noted that companies also need to consider whether packaged applications are certified to run on open-source software.
