The trade press and analyst community have been abuzz with excitement over the potential of Web 2.0 and Enterprise 2.0 -- broadly defined as applications or capabilities delivered over the network, such as Software as a Service and mashups, as well as collaborative tools such as blogs and wikis.

SOA and Web 2.0 share common goals, and there is enormous potential for Web 2.0 to accelerate SOA efforts. But how do we connect the dots between Web 2.0 and SOA? SOA and SaaS, for example, share common frameworks. Then there's the enhanced collaboration SOA developers and architects can achieve as a result of Web 2.0 tools. Then there's the mashup scenario, in which end-users can build their own applications -- the ultimate vision of SOA. Finallly, front-end environments such a Ajax and other rich client interfaces may help extend the "last mile" of SOA to the desktop.

Click here to attend this one.

Posted by elizabeth in SOA and Web Services | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Click here to join Dennis Byron for an overview of ebizQ research into the various ways that open source software (OSS) enables SOA. The research looked at the different styles of SOA, and provides OSS options by services type (applications and infrastructure). A top-down view of emerging defacto and dejure standard OSS SOA stacks is included along with descriptions of OSS software that can be mixed and matched meet transaction processing, collaboration, business intelligence, content management, and other business solution needs.

Tune into this session to learn actionable information to help you take advantage of the OSS culture and business model as you SOA-enable your enterprise

Posted by elizabeth in SOA and Web Services | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This webinar starts at noon! Jump in by clicking here.

Here is a short description:

Today's SOA practitioners find their greatest architecture challenges addressing reliability and scalability for composite applications and processing large payloads. This session presents a breakthrough design for SOAs that deliver continuous availability and linear scalability for services and applications. With new approaches that include middle-tier data caching, load balancing and HA through service-level grid enablement, you can make your SOA bullet-proof.

Posted by elizabeth in SOA and Web Services | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Read a summary -- or listen to a quick preview podcast -- of one of our SOA in Action Keynote addresses. This one is from Forrester's Randy Heffner. He discusses how to transform savvy tactical implementations into a grand strategy for effective overall SOA.

Check it out here!

Posted by elizabeth in Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

ebizQ's SOA In Action 2007 virtual conference launches tomorrow! Have you heard what we're giving away?

Visit each virtual booth in the conference and automatically be entered to win an Apple iPhone!

Attend the panel discussion "SOA and Web 2.0" or "SOA Trends" for a chance to win one of 4 books on SOA!

Are you registered for all the events you want to attend?

Visit >http://www.soainaction.com/agenda to sign up for presentations from your favorite SOA experts, including David Linthicum, Roy Schulte, Beth Gold-Bernstein, Joe McKendrick, Randy Heffner, Dana Gardner, Brenda Michelson, and many, many more!

Posted by elizabeth in ebizQ | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A statement by BEA today in response to the "unsolicited proposal" offer from Oracle:

BEA Systems (BEAS) today confirmed that its Board of Directors has received an unsolicited proposal from Oracle (ORCL) to acquire BEA Systems for $17.00 per share in cash. Consistent with its fiduciary duties, and in consultation with its financial and legal advisors, the Board has reviewed the proposal and the substance of recent management conversations with Oracle, and concluded that the proposal significantly under-values BEA Systems. Therefore, the Board of Directors authorized the following response letter, which was delivered to Oracle on Thursday, October 11, 2007 (prior to Oracle having publicly released its proposal).

11 October 2007

BEA is being advised by Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.

Posted by elizabeth in M&A | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Neil Macehiter of the firm Macehiter Ward-Dutton, says that IBM is the big winner in all of this. "Suddenly, customers looking for a middleware backbone that’s independent of their applications suite are left with only one credible candidate."

Neil said he can’t say the Oracle acquisition of BEA comes as a great surprise, particularly with Icahn upping his stake in BEA. "I think this makes it more likely that BEA will accept the offer."

"I see this primarily as a market share grab by Oracle. It does plug some gaps in the portfolio – particularly around BPM (based on BEA’s Fuego acquisition); adds some telecoms vertical market capabilities and the virtualisation work that BEA has done with the JRockit engine. Also, there’s the opportunity for Oracle to tap into the healthy Tuxedo base.

"This is yet another example of the big specialist players getting squeezed out by the industry goliaths – IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP – and the open source, smaller best-of-breed players. SAP’s acquisition of Business Objects is another example (although that did plug a few more gaps).

"I see the likes of TIBCO, RedHat and Progress as most threatened by this. Taking market share from BEA would have helped their growth strategies: Oracle is a different kettle of fish.

"BEA has struggled to grow revenue from licenses which is key for a company of its size. Oracle’s profitability comes in large part from maintenance revenue so the maintenance revenue from BEA’s customer base will serve it better.

Posted by elizabeth in M&A | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Well, looks like another one is biting this dust! Today's news fresh off the presses is that Oracle is recommending to its board a buy of BEA Systems for approximately $6.66 Billion, or $17 a share, in cash.

I'm going to blog on this all day, and am collecting reactions from bloggers, vendors, everybody. So if you have something to say on this, comment or email me at elizabeth (@) ebizq.net.

Raw news here.

Posted by elizabeth in M&A | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It's not the first time the Germans and the French teamed up, but this time I think there will be happier results.

It was reported over the weekend that Germany's SAP picked up France's Business Objects in a friendly takeover after it put itself on the market in mid-September. See my blog entry about that here.

The price was pretty high, in my opinion. 4.8 billion Euros, or $6.8 billion, making it the largest acquisition in SAP's acquisition-rich history. But some might argue that Business Objects is worth the price it commanded. However, the merger also gives the market share for BI query and embedded analytics software decidedly to SAP. The other competitors in this market are Cognos, Oracle's Hyperion, SAS, and MicroStrategy.

On Monday, shares in SAP plunged due to some analysts comments about the duplicity of SAP's existing programs with companies such as Informatica. When the market closed, SAP was down 4.6 percent. On the other hand, there's probably a lot of cheer in the Business Objects offices this evening, as their shares rose 17 percent.

Please enjoy this released statement from Rob Ashe, CEO of Cognos:

“Cognos now stands as THE Independent Performance Management provider in the market and is committed to giving customers equal access to their entire infrastructure, applications and data sources. This is a great position for us to be in, and it validates the vision we laid out more than 6 years ago: to be the leading independent provider of Performance Management solutions for our customers. We will not waver in that vision and our strategy is based on a number of key beliefs and principles. The majority of the market will gravitate to an ERP-neutral solution because transaction systems are fundamentally different than Decision-making systems, and secondly, the market values specialization for each of these types of systems because it brings the focus, passion and commitment that customers need to be successful. We will continue to pursue an “embrace and extend” strategy for the ERP environments we support -- taking full advantage of what the ERP provider offers, and at the same time, extending to cover other data sources and environments.”

Posted by elizabeth in M&A | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Inquiring minds simply must know. ebizQ's ever creative Gian Trotta boldly asked the question that has simmered at the back of our minds for years.

"WHICH IS IT!?!"

That's right: Is SOA pronounced "ES-OH-AY," or "SOH-UH?"

We've asked the public for their response, and they're really rolling in. Take the quick poll here (and maybe win something cool!) and we'll let you know in a few days what the deal is!

Also, if you care about stuff like this, you probably also care that SOA in Action, the virtual conference, is coming up at the end of the month. Joe McKendrick, Roy Schulte, Randy Heffner, you name it! We've got a great lineup so sign up here!

Posted by elizabeth in SOA and Web Services | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)