Actional and Westbridge Merge To Provide Integrated SOA Security and Management

ZapThink estimates there was approximately $194.3 million in Web-services management revenue in 2003, a number that is expected to leap to $1.4 billion this year and to $8.8 billion by 2005, reflecting both the growing use of the software and the larger role of dominant players in selling it. ZapThink expects the market to reach $30.4 billion by 2010.

Read more at: Web Services Pipeline

Web Services Management

Of all the markets that the rush to capitalize on Web Services and Service-Oriented Architectures (SOA) spawned, the space known as Web Services Management (WSM) is likely the most turbulent. Marked by a large number of new entrant vendors and cutthroat competition for a steadily increasing number of customers, WSM products have come to offer a core set of functionality as well as many of the key capabilities necessary for companies to build and run SOAs.

In spite of significant press and early adopter attention to the vendors in this space, there have been too many vendors chasing too few deals, and as a result, most WSM vendors have reconfigured their product and marketing strategies at least once, as they seek the right niche to build the customer traction so critical to their survival. As a result, the WSM market is filled with short-term fragmentation, as vendors jockey for position, and longer-term consolidation, as incumbent vendors make strategic acquisitions and build their WSM capabilities as the market matures.

This report provides WSM vendors with the perspective they need to focus their market and product strategies for the next one to two years, and it illustrates the complete WSM landscape for end-users, enabling them to understand which vendors will be able to provide the capabilities they require, both now and as they build out their Service-Oriented Architectures.

Oblix to Buy Confluent in Web Services Play

Jason Bloomberg, a senior analyst at research outfit ZapThink, said Oblix’ acquisition of Confluent is a departure from the norm for companies in the identity management and Web services management industries, though the synergies between the two make it an ideal arrangement.

“Most companies in these two markets have been happy with partnerships to complement one another’s strengths, but there’s no question the Oblix/Confluent combination promises to offer a more comprehensive management solution than any other one company might be able to offer,” he told internetnews.com.

Read more at: Internetnews.com

Oblix buys into Web services management

While HP and Computer Associates offer a broad suite of functions, Oblix’s software is more specific to identity management. The acquisition of Confluent by Oblix could indicate that interest in Web services management will increasingly come from a broad range of companies, beyond the traditional software management realm, according to Ron Schmelzer, an analyst at Web services research company ZapThink.

“If you asked me who I thought would buy Confluent, I would not have put Oblix on the list,” said Schmelzer. “I think we’ll start to see consolidation from different places (than traditional management providers).”

The Confluent software can help Oblix manage networking policies other than security and network access, Schmelzer noted. Confluent’s software could act as an extension to Oblix’s current software line with the ability to track whether a Web service application is available and whether it’s performing adequately, he said.

Read more at: CNet

Will David or Goliath manage your Web services?

Jason Bloomberg heartily agrees. “There are still too many vendors in this space,” said the senior analyst from Waltham, Mass.-based ZapThink LLC. “There aren’t enough customers to go around.”

Bloomberg said that the customer leader among the companies in this area is, by far, AmberPoint, which boasts 30 clients. “If the leader has 30, then you know the market can’t support eight vendors,” he said. “Come on.”

Bloomberg said that Unicenter WSDM is an attractive product for large organizations deploying multiple Web services, which is the target audience for most of the companies in this market. “It’s really a soup-to-nuts product,” he said. “It’s going to be the product to beat.”

Read more at: SearchWebServices

Five Technologies To Watch for 2004

Expect the Web services management market to gather more steam in 2004, as well as consolidate further, analysts and solution providers predict. Research firm ZapThink projects that the market will grow to $13 billion by 2007 from $35 million in 2003.

$13 Billion: Size of the Web Services Management market predicted by 2007 – Source: ZapThink.

Read more at: CRN

With age comes WSDM

Jason Bloomberg, a senior analyst with Waltham, Mass.-based ZapThink LLC, said that Unicenter WSDM allows enterprises to monitor of the quality of service (QoS) of their Web services automatically. If a predetermined threshold of service performance is exceeded, alerts are generated.

Read more at: TechTarget

Overview of Web Services Management

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Taming Web services

Although it appears that both camps have a role to play, some market watchers believe the traditional management vendors will eventually hold sway. Analysts at ZapThink LLC, a Waltham, Mass., market research firm, contend that the start-up management vendors have a two-year window before larger, more established vendors dominate the market.

Read more at: Federal Computer World

Blue Titan Vies For Niche In Web Services Management

Blue Titan is far from the only ISV trying to tackle Web services management ahead of the demand for the technology. Jason Bloomberg, an analyst with Waltham, Mass.-based research firm ZapThink, estimates there are at least 10 startups focused on some aspect of Web services management.

Read more at: CRN