The Bloor Perspective: App server league positions, Citrix improves MetaFrame and StarOffice 6

BEA has been trumpeting the news it had, once again, managed to retain the number one position in the worldwide application server marketplace. This finding, unearthed by IDC, demonstrated once again how dominant BEA's application server really is.

The firm has claimed the crowning glory in the increasingly important, albeit increasingly commoditised, $2.2bn application server market. And once again it has done so with a considerable margin. According to IDC's figures, which will be released shortly, in 2001 BEA grew its market share from 18 per cent in 2000, a figure that kept it ahead of the pack, to 24.8 per cent in 2001.

This is a considerable gain for the firm, particularly when considering the increasing competition in this area. The 24.8 per cent market share kept BEA riding high above IBM, its nearest competitor, and left the rest - HP, Oracle and Sun - positively floundering in its wake. BEA now claims it has more than 13,000 active customers using its application server.

This could well be the last time that we see BEA holding this kind of market share, however. With the application server market expected to grow to more than $57bn by 2005, the competition are ever keen to topple BEA's dominance - and they're employing varying degrees of stealth to do so.

On the one hand there are companies like HP now giving away its BlueStone application server and, on the other, there are those like Oracle trying to outdo the firm on technology alone, which it arguably is. Then there are companies like Sun which has just announced it is bundling its application server, iPlanet Application Server, into the latest iteration of Solaris, version 9.

What does this mean for BEA? Simply that it is fighting for revenues in a market that is, possibly, soon to be dominated by give-aways. Naturally, that won't make sales any easier.

We can't expect BEA to take this lying down. It's been ramping up its apps server on a continuous basis and it is undoubtedly one of the best available, with a considerable user base to boot. That means the battle for the application server is going to get bloody, with some almost inevitable consolidation on the horizon.

*Citrix to thrill users*

Citrix recently strengthened its hold on the virtual desktop with the release of its latest iteration of its MetaFrame application server. MetaFrame for Windows XP Feature Release 2 is packed with enhancements sure to further the Citrix cause.

It has a raft of new features. Management has been improved with the addition of some system monitoring and balancing functions, with new reporting and usage features, which are much needed for larger installations. Citrix has also tweaked the way server-hosted and local applications interoperate and it's overhauled the collaboration functions too, allowing multiple users in multiple locations to work on the same documents.

Perhaps the biggest news, however, is the addition of the Citrix Secure Gateway, a brand new development that gives unprecedented end-to-end security for servers and users. This is exciting stuff indeed. This new component provides standard SSL security features to all the Citrix traffic, meaning you can access the service from the office, home or even the local Easy internet café. It's an important development, a virtual Virtual Private Network almost, that shows how in touch with user requirements Citrix really is.

All in all, MetaFrame XP Feature Release 2 is a timely release from Citrix, which it hopes will enable it to tap into the lucrative XP marketplace. Currently Citrix says it has some 120,000 customers, which equates to a lot of users, and apparently some 2 million users have registered to upgrade from the old 1.8 version of the MetaFrame product to the new XP one. That's a very healthy installed base that is sure to be thrilled with this version.

*The value of StarOffice*

Sun's StarOffice 6 has just been released, to critical acclaim from those who have seen it in action and to general wishy-washy mutterings from the rest about the fact that there is a price tag on the new version.

The nicely boxed product comes in at $75 in the US (£52.99 in the UK) and offers facilities for spreadsheet, database, word processing, graphics and presentations. Enterprise sales cost between one-third and two-thirds of the list price depending upon the number of seats.

What's more, the licence conditions are pretty easy going with each individual user being able to install his/her copy on up to five different desktops as long as they only use one at a time. Additionally there are network licences for enterprise customers.

StarOffice 6 gets rid of that highly annoying desktop and, instead, integrates into Linux, Solaris or Windows environments. The number of file types supported has been increased and the use of XML ensures documents take up less disk space.

This is a nicely timed release by Sun. Microsoft Office may dominate the market space for productivity tools but its users are at something of a crossroads. They are mostly using ageing products and are facing a choice of whether or not to accept Microsoft's new licensing model.

Sun is making the choice easier for the waverers. StarOffice costs between one sixth and one-twentieth of the price of its competitor and will not enforce a 2-3 year upgrade cycle. With its high levels of Microsoft Office compatibility, the move onto StarOffice is easy as long as you're not a big user of macros. What's more, this is an opportunity to extend the office out onto new platforms.

So why isn't Sun still giving the product away? There are several answers. For a start, free products are not usually to be found on the shelves of your major retail outlets - no margin. It is also true there are not many enterprises that will settle for a strategy based on free products. Credibility and support are the issues there.

Let's face it, this is a major product still being sold much cheaper than the established competition. It will meet the needs of all but a few. This is a choice worth paying for. Those that don't agree can still get a less functional but free version from www.openoffice.org.

Bloor Research is a leading independent analyst organisation in Europe. You can find out more at http://www.bloor-research.com or by emailing mail@bloor-research.com.