04
Mon, Nov
1 New Articles

IBM and Lawson Forge SOA Alliance

Analysis of News Events
Typography
  • Smaller Small Medium Big Bigger
  • Default Helvetica Segoe Georgia Times

Earlier this month, IBM formed an alliance with iSeries vendor Lawson Software that could prove to be the first of many such ventures for Big Blue. Under the alliance, IBM will help Lawson develop a new generation of applications that provides users with a flexible and open service-oriented architecture (SOA) based on IBM's WebSphere middleware. Through the Lawson alliance and similar agreements, IBM could make it much easier for medium-size companies and iSeries users to reap the benefits of SOAs. At the same time, the computer giant may find itself competing with the world's largest application vendors that are promoting their own SOAs to mid-market firms.

There are good reasons why IBM wants to work with software vendors to create SOAs. Over the last couple of years, SOAs have become central to the plans of hundreds of application vendors, middleware providers, and large enterprises. In the eyes of these firms, SOAs could help them to create the holy grail of computing: highly flexible IT infrastructures in which all applications and information resources can seamlessly communicate with each other. In such infrastructures, companies could finally break down the barriers between scattered silos of data to get a single, consistent view of their customers and suppliers. They could redesign their business processes and have their applications instantly support the changes. They could integrate their systems with those of their partners--regardless of the applications they use--in days rather than months.

As these companies see it, SOAs would deliver such benefits by replacing proprietary, monolithic applications with smaller components that embody more granular business process functions. Such components would be designed using industry-standard tools and would be invoked by multiple applications via industry-standard protocols. Since the interfaces between these components would adhere to open standards, users could intermix components from multiple vendors, easily modify them to meet unique requirements, and rearrange them on the fly as business processes change. By using Web Services standards, companies could extend these capabilities not only across their organizations, but also across the world to customers and partners.

If SOAs deliver on their promises, they could make it far easier for companies to realize IBM's vision of the On Demand enterprise. This is perhaps the greatest reason why Big Blue has put a top priority on becoming an SOA leader. If the company can create a body of middleware, services, and intellectual property that makes it easier to deploy SOAs, it could wield considerable influence over the next generation of enterprise applications.

IBM's SOA Gambit

With these thoughts in mind, IBM asked some of its brightest minds to spend much of 2004 developing middleware functions, best practices, and architectural models for creating SOAs. Many of the middleware functions made their appearance in software releases that IBM announced during the second half of last year, including WebSphere Application Server 6.0. The new release incorporates SOA capabilities such as support for Java Message Service (JMS) and WS-Transactions, a protocol for ensuring transaction processing integrity across multiple systems.

In 2004, IBM also announced services to help software vendors and their customers build SOAs. In the middle of last year, for instance, IBM Global Services (IGS) offered services to help organizations assess their IT assets and develop strategies for migrating those assets to SOAs. Last month, the organization announced services to help organizations design and implement SOAs. This month, IGS unveiled a Business Integration Adoption Model that creates a roadmap for how organizations can implement SOAs over time. At the same time, IBM announced the SOA Integration Framework, a prescriptive architecture for using the company's WebSphere, Rational, and Tivoli products to deploy SOAs.

While IBM understands that few mid-market customers would ever deploy SOAs on their own, it believes that they will embrace SOAs in the form of packaged applications. This is something that Lawson Software also believes, which is why the two vendors have joined to build an SOA into Lawson's next-generation solutions suite. The suite, which Lawson calls Project Landmark, will use IBM's middleware and architectural models to create an SOA from J2EE-compliant components. Through Project Landmark, Lawson intends to dramatically reduce the coding needed to modify business processes, enabling companies to respond rapidly to business changes.

It is highly likely that IBM will forge similar alliances with other mid-market application vendors in the near future. Through such alliances, IBM could establish itself as a thought leader in the deployment and use of SOAs. If it succeeds in doing so, IBM's middleware could find its way into hundreds of enterprise applications and thousands of companies. Moreover, since most mid-market companies do not have the skills to migrate to SOAs on their own, IBM and its Business Partners could become valued service providers to these firms.

As IBM seeks to become an SOA leader, it will likely find itself competing with some of the world's biggest application vendors who also happen to be IBM Business Partners. These vendors--particularly Oracle, SAP, and Microsoft--want to establish their own middleware and development tools as the standards for building SOAs. In future articles, I will examine the SOA strategies of these vendors and consider what they mean for iSeries customers, so stay tuned.

Lee Kroon is a Senior Industry Analyst for Andrews Consulting Group, a firm that helps mid-sized companies manage business transformation through technology. You can reach him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

LEE KROON
Lee Kroon is a Senior Industry Analyst for Andrews Consulting Group, a firm that helps mid-sized companies manage business transformation through technology.
BLOG COMMENTS POWERED BY DISQUS

LATEST COMMENTS

Support MC Press Online

$

Book Reviews

Resource Center

  • SB Profound WC 5536 Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application. You can find Part 1 here. In Part 2 of our free Node.js Webinar Series, Brian May teaches you the different tooling options available for writing code, debugging, and using Git for version control. Brian will briefly discuss the different tools available, and demonstrate his preferred setup for Node development on IBM i or any platform. Attend this webinar to learn:

  • SB Profound WP 5539More than ever, there is a demand for IT to deliver innovation. Your IBM i has been an essential part of your business operations for years. However, your organization may struggle to maintain the current system and implement new projects. The thousands of customers we've worked with and surveyed state that expectations regarding the digital footprint and vision of the company are not aligned with the current IT environment.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT Generic IBM announced the E1080 servers using the latest Power10 processor in September 2021. The most powerful processor from IBM to date, Power10 is designed to handle the demands of doing business in today’s high-tech atmosphere, including running cloud applications, supporting big data, and managing AI workloads. But what does Power10 mean for your data center? In this recorded webinar, IBMers Dan Sundt and Dylan Boday join IBM Power Champion Tom Huntington for a discussion on why Power10 technology is the right strategic investment if you run IBM i, AIX, or Linux. In this action-packed hour, Tom will share trends from the IBM i and AIX user communities while Dan and Dylan dive into the tech specs for key hardware, including:

  • Magic MarkTRY the one package that solves all your document design and printing challenges on all your platforms. Produce bar code labels, electronic forms, ad hoc reports, and RFID tags – without programming! MarkMagic is the only document design and print solution that combines report writing, WYSIWYG label and forms design, and conditional printing in one integrated product. Make sure your data survives when catastrophe hits. Request your trial now!  Request Now.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericForms of ransomware has been around for over 30 years, and with more and more organizations suffering attacks each year, it continues to endure. What has made ransomware such a durable threat and what is the best way to combat it? In order to prevent ransomware, organizations must first understand how it works.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericIT security is a top priority for businesses around the world, but most IBM i pros don’t know where to begin—and most cybersecurity experts don’t know IBM i. In this session, Robin Tatam explores the business impact of lax IBM i security, the top vulnerabilities putting IBM i at risk, and the steps you can take to protect your organization. If you’re looking to avoid unexpected downtime or corrupted data, you don’t want to miss this session.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericCan you trust all of your users all of the time? A typical end user receives 16 malicious emails each month, but only 17 percent of these phishing campaigns are reported to IT. Once an attack is underway, most organizations won’t discover the breach until six months later. A staggering amount of damage can occur in that time. Despite these risks, 93 percent of organizations are leaving their IBM i systems vulnerable to cybercrime. In this on-demand webinar, IBM i security experts Robin Tatam and Sandi Moore will reveal:

  • FORTRA Disaster protection is vital to every business. Yet, it often consists of patched together procedures that are prone to error. From automatic backups to data encryption to media management, Robot automates the routine (yet often complex) tasks of iSeries backup and recovery, saving you time and money and making the process safer and more reliable. Automate your backups with the Robot Backup and Recovery Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAManaging messages on your IBM i can be more than a full-time job if you have to do it manually. Messages need a response and resources must be monitored—often over multiple systems and across platforms. How can you be sure you won’t miss important system events? Automate your message center with the Robot Message Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAThe thought of printing, distributing, and storing iSeries reports manually may reduce you to tears. Paper and labor costs associated with report generation can spiral out of control. Mountains of paper threaten to swamp your files. Robot automates report bursting, distribution, bundling, and archiving, and offers secure, selective online report viewing. Manage your reports with the Robot Report Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAFor over 30 years, Robot has been a leader in systems management for IBM i. With batch job creation and scheduling at its core, the Robot Job Scheduling Solution reduces the opportunity for human error and helps you maintain service levels, automating even the biggest, most complex runbooks. Manage your job schedule with the Robot Job Scheduling Solution. Key features include:

  • LANSA Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.

  • LANSAWhen it comes to creating your business applications, there are hundreds of coding platforms and programming languages to choose from. These options range from very complex traditional programming languages to Low-Code platforms where sometimes no traditional coding experience is needed. Download our whitepaper, The Power of Writing Code in a Low-Code Solution, and:

  • LANSASupply Chain is becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable. From raw materials for manufacturing to food supply chains, the journey from source to production to delivery to consumers is marred with inefficiencies, manual processes, shortages, recalls, counterfeits, and scandals. In this webinar, we discuss how:

  • The MC Resource Centers bring you the widest selection of white papers, trial software, and on-demand webcasts for you to choose from. >> Review the list of White Papers, Trial Software or On-Demand Webcast at the MC Press Resource Center. >> Add the items to yru Cart and complet he checkout process and submit

  • Profound Logic Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application.

  • SB Profound WC 5536Join us for this hour-long webcast that will explore:

  • Fortra IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators with intimate knowledge of the operating system and the applications that run on it is small. This begs the question: How will you manage the platform that supports such a big part of your business? This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn: