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MarketScope for Ajax Technologies and Rich Internet Application Platforms
Gartner RAS Core Research Note G00173751, Ray Valdes, Eric Knipp, David Mitchell Smith, Gene Phifer, Mark Driver, 31 December 2009, R3268 02012011
Ajax technologies and rich Internet application platforms are moving from the early adopter phase of market evolution to midstage, enterprise-level adoption.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOWThis document was revised on 14 January 2010. For more information, see the Corrections page.
• RichInternetapplication(RIA)technologycanbeeitherastand-aloneplatformthatisusuallyintegratedwithexistingapplicationdevelopmentplatforms,oranextensiontoanexistingserver-centricplatform.
• Ajaxispervasiveintheconsumerspaceofpublichigh-endwebsites,anditsadoptionisnowgrowingbeyondtheearlyadoptersegment(technologicallyaggressiveorganizations)tothemiddle-adoptertier.
• Mostenterprisesarenotearlyadopters,andremaininthewait-and-seestageforadopting“heavyRIA”technologies,holdingoffuntilthetechnologymaturesanduntiltheirpreferredlargeITvendor(whetherit’sMicrosoft,IBM,Oracle,orSAP)deliversatechnologythatis“digestible”(abletobeabsorbedbythecurrentITstaff,skillsetandtechnologyenvironment).Inthecomingyears,thistrendwillfavorserver-centricplatforms,ratherthanpurelyclient-sideapproaches.
• SuccessinAjaxandRIAdeploymentsdependsmoreonauser-centereddesign/developmentprocessthanonchoiceoftechnology;unfortunately,mostorganizationsfollowprocessesthataretechnology-focusedandmetrics-blind,andwillfindreturnoninvestment(ROI)elusive.
MARKETSCOPETheAjax/RIAsector,broadlyspeaking,isasetoftechnologyofferingsorientedtomeetingthe needs of application development teams to build systems that deliver a rich and responsiveuserexperience.Thefocusofbuyersinthismarketisontechnology,despiteGartner’slong-standingadvicethatsuccessinpresentation-orienteddevelopmentprojectsresultsmorefromauser-centereddesignprocessthanfromaddinganewlayeroftechnology.IntheAjax/RIAsector,thefocusofbuyersisnotjusttechnology,buttechnologythatisdifferentfromthetraditionalserver-centricplatformstowhichtheyareaccustomed.Theneed,asperceivedbyprospectivebuyersinthismarket,isoftennotpreciselyarticulated,butisgenerallyforatool,technologyorplatformthatdeliversa“better”userexperience.Inthiscontext,“better”referstoanexperiencethatisvisiblydifferentthanwhat’sproducedbytheexistingplatforms,whichhaveresultedinlegacyapplicationsthatareperceivedtobedrabanddifficulttouse.
2Whatthetypicalorganizationseekstoreplaceisalegacyplatform—eitherclient/server(suchasPowerBuilder,VisualBasicorOracleForms)orWeb(plainHTMLwith“islandsofinteractivity”basedonFlash,JavaorActiveX).Unfortunately,alltoooften,addingnewtechnologytoanorganizationthathasadysfunctionalprocessresultsinadegraded,ratherthananimproved,userexperience.Theeventualresultisoftennotknown,becausehavingan immature process means that appropriate metrics are not collected.Therefore,theorganizationcannotobjectivelydeterminewhetherthereisanimprovementintheeffectivenessoftheuserexperience.Thecasecanbemadethatorganizationswouldgetbetterresultsbyfocusingonabetterdesignprocess,oronmoreeffective use of the presentation capabilities already included in mainstreamserver-sideplatforms,whichhaveevolvedtoincludeAjaxandRIAfeatures.Thisconsiderationisbeyondthescopeofthisresearch,whichfocusesonanemergingbutcohesivesetofbuyersandsellersthatcomprisestheAjax/RIAmarket(see“Top10MistakesinUserExperienceDesignProjects”).
Asischaracteristicwithanyemergingmarket,thereareoftendiverseplayersandapproaches,andplentyof“applesversusoranges”comparisonspossible,duetodifferentiationinfeaturesandapproach.TheargumenthasbeenmadebysomevendorswithproductsinthisspacethatthenotionofacohesiveAjax/RIAmarket is an illusion, and that this is not a market anymore than thereisan“HTMLmarket”oran“XMLmarket.”Thepropositionisthatallofthese(HTML,XML,Ajax,RIA)technologiesareenablingtechnologiesforoneormoredistinctmarkets.
While this perspective has a certain validity, Gartner has chosen to doaMarketScopeinthisareabecausethissituationmeetstwokey aspects of a market:
• First,acommunityofbuyersthatiswillingandabletobuy,andthatmayreferenceeachother(or,alternatively,third-partyadvisors)inmakingabuyingdecision.
• Second,acommunityofsellersthatcompeteswitheachotherforthebuyers’attentionandcommitment.
Themarketisatthestagewherethereisahighdegreeoffragmentationanddiversity.Notallsellerscompetewitheachother,andnotallbuyershaveidenticalneeds.Nevertheless,Gartnerhasreceivedenoughinquiriesforguidanceinproduct/technologyselection,andhasseenenoughcompetitiveface-offs(suchasAdobeFlexversusMicrosoftSilverlight,orBackbaseversusNexawebTechnologies,orAdobeAIRversusMicrosoftWindowsPresentationFoundation[WPF],orAjaxversus“heavyRIA”ingeneral),thatthebroadoutlinesofthemarketarevisible(see“NavigatingtheAjaxversus‘HeavyRIA’Dilemma”).Withinthis
marketaresegments,suchasthefissurebetweenenterpriseRIAandconsumer-orientedAjax.Butthisfragmentationisnodifferentthaninotherearlystagemarkets—forexample,theportalmarket,wherevendorswereinitiallystrongineitherexternal-facingorinternal-facingdeployments,butnotinboth.
AstheAjax/RIAmarketmaturesandconsolidates,asmallnumberoflargevendorswillgrowevenlargerbyencompassingbroad-basedapproaches,acquiringsmallervendorsand/ortakingmarketshareawayfromsecond-tierchoices.Asthathappens,thefaultlinesthatfragmenttheAjax/RIAsectorwillfade.
Thecenterofgravityinthemarketwillshiftinthedirectionofserver-integrated,platform-centricapproaches,andawayfromtheclient-centric,server-neutraltrendthathasbeeninplaceinrecentyears.
Market/Market Segment DescriptionTheAjax/RIAsectorcanbesegmentedintwoways:intermsofbuyersandintermsofsellers.
Lookingatthemarketintermsofbuyers,thesefallintothefollowingcategories:
• Enterprise legacy platform replacement: Enterprises seekingapresentation-centricdevelopmentplatformandtoolsetthatwillreplaceagingorobsoletelegacyapplicationsbuiltwithearliergenerationoftools,suchasOracleForms,PowerBuilderorVisualBasic.Theneedsofthisclassofbuyerscenter on developer productivity, platform compatibility, skills compatibility,vendorsupport,andvendorlongevity.
• Public-facing enterprise sites:ThesesitesrepresenttheexternalWebpresenceforGlobal1000organizations.Theneed for this class of buyers is for broad reach to a mass audience.Thisisbestachievedthroughbrowser-independentimplementations,server-neutralclient-sidetechnology,asmallclientfootprint,easyupdates,etc.Beyondthesecorerequirements,therearetheenterpriserequirementslistedabove.
• Stand-alone, consumer-oriented websites:Thetop100websitesandsmallerstand-aloneWebpropertiesthataspiretobethenextFacebookorGoogle.Buyersinthisclasshavestrongtechnicalstaff,andmanyhavebuilttheirownAjaxframeworksandRIAtools.Theirneedsareforbroadreachandbrowserindependence,similartohigh-endenterprisesites.Akeydifferenceistheneedforcompatibilitywithserver-sideframeworks—oftenneither.NETnorJava,butforLinux,Apache,MySQL,PHP(LAMP)-basedPythonorRuby(noneofwhichisprevalentinenterprise-scaledeployments).
TheMarketScopeiscopyrightedDecember2009byGartner,Inc.andisreusedwithpermission.TheMarketScopeisanevaluationofamarketplaceatandforaspecifictimeperiod.ItdepictsGartner’sanalysisofhowcertainvendorsmeasureagainstcriteriaforthatmarketplace,asdefinedbyGartner.Gartnerdoesnotendorseanyvendor,productorservicedepictedintheMarketScope,anddoesnotadvisetechnologyuserstoselectonlythosevendorswiththehighestrating.Gartnerdisclaimsallwarranties,expressorimplied,withrespecttothisresearch,includinganywarrantiesofmerchantabilityorfitnessforaparticularpurpose.
©2010Gartner,Inc.and/oritsaffiliates.Allrightsreserved.GartnerisaregisteredtrademarkofGartner,Inc.oritsaffiliates.Reproductionanddistributionofthispublicationinanyformwithoutpriorwrittenpermissionisforbidden.Theinformationcontainedhereinhasbeenobtainedfromsourcesbelievedtobereliable.Gartnerdisclaimsallwarrantiesastotheaccuracy,completenessoradequacyofsuchinformation.AlthoughGartner’sresearchmaydiscusslegalissuesrelatedtotheinformationtechnologybusiness,Gartnerdoesnotprovidelegaladviceorservicesanditsresearchshouldnotbeconstruedorusedassuch.Gartnershallhavenoliabilityforerrors,omissionsorinadequaciesintheinformationcontainedhereinorforinterpretationsthereof.Theopinionsexpressedhereinaresubjecttochangewithoutnotice.
3• Independent software vendor (ISV) differentiators:ISVshave
followedthetechnologyshiftinthe1990sfromclient/servertotheWeb,andarenowseekingtodifferentiatetheirofferingsfromsimilarWeb-basedcompetitors.Comparedtotheaverageenterprise,thebuyersintheISVclasshaveastrongin-houseengineeringstaffandmatureuserexperiencedesignteamsandprocesses.ThesebuyerscanmoreeasilyabsorbandexploitAjaxandRIAtechnologyofferings,whetheropen-sourceAjaxorbroad-scopeRIAplatforms.
Tomeettheneedsofthesedifferentmarketsegmentsorclassesofbuyers,thereisadiversecollectionofsellers:technologyvendors,quasi-vendors,andopen-sourcetoolkits(notaffiliatedwithaconventionalvendor).Theofferingsareasfollows:
• Community-oriented, open-source Ajax toolkits:Thesenoncommercial,freeandopen-sourcetoolkitsincludeDojo,Prototype/script.aculo.us,jQueryandMooTools.Thesehaveseenwideadoption,primarilyoutsidetheenterprise,withasignificantminorityoftop100websitesnowusingoneormoreofthese,oftenasasupplementtocustom-builtAjax(see“It’sOfficial:Open-SourceJavaScriptHasDisplacedClosed-SourceOfferings”).
• Vendor-centered, open-source Ajax and RIA technology: Open-sourcetoolkitsaffiliatedwithasmallcommercialvendor(e.g.,IsomorphicSoftware,Backbase,JackBe,ExtJS,MBTechnologies,LaszloSystems).Thevendorisusuallytargetingtheenterprisesectorbecausethetop100websitesrelyoneithercustom-builttechnologyoropensource.
• Commercial Ajax and RIA product offerings:Thesestartedoutasclosed-sourcepackagestargetedtowardtheenterprisemarket,andmanyremainthatway;however,somehavesincebecomeopensource,atleastpartially.TibcoSoftware’sGeneralInterface(GI)isaprimeexample,andLaszloisoneoftheearliest.Adobeisamorerecententrantinthatithasopen-sourceditsFlexSDK(butnotitsFlexBuildertool).Microsofthasopen-sourceditsAjaxLibraryandSilverlightToolkit.
• Broad-scope RIA platform plays:OfferingsarefromAdobe,Microsoft,IBMandSunMicrosystems.Theseenterprise-orientedvendorsofferindustrial-strengthplatformsandtoolsthatgobeyondbasicAjaxcapability.MarketadoptionofRIAframeworkshasbeenlowinthepastduetotheemergingstageof market evolution, and in some cases to the immaturity of the technology.Thisischangingasthetechnologymaturesandthemarketbroadens.
• Nonproduct offerings from commercial vendors:Thesearetechnologypackagesfromcommercialvendorsthatarereleasedasopen-sourceorfreesoftware,butnotasaproduct(andwithnoplanstoproductize).AdobeSpry,YahooYUI,GoogleWebToolkit(GWT),andMicrosoftAjaxLibrary(formerlycodenamedAtlas)areexampleshere.
• Collections of visual components morphing into frameworks:Thesecomefromagroupofsmallbutlong-livedvendorsofaftermarketcomponents.Offeringsmaybedelivered
withsourcecode,butthelicensesarenotopen-source.VendorsincludeInfragistics,DevExpress,ComponentArt,DundasDataVisualization,ComponentOneandSoftwareFX.Thesevendorsofferamixofhorizontalinfrastructureenhancements(add-oncomponentsforWPFandJava),stand-aloneframeworks(competingdirectlywithAjaxandRIAframeworks),andverticalmicroproducts(geographicinformationsystem[GIS]andchartingcomponents).
Inclusion and Exclusion CriteriaA MarketScope is intended to address the needs of Gartner customersinevaluatingproductofferingsandvendorrelationshipsinanearlytomidstagemarket.Amarket,asstatedearlier,isacommunityofbuyersandsellers.Animplicationoftheterm“community”isthatmanyoftheparticipants(althoughbynomeansall,orevennecessarilyamajority)areawareofeachother,andoftenusethatknowledgeinformulatingbuy-sidedecisions,aswellassell-sidecompetitivestrategies.Theaspectsofamarket,therefore, include buyers, sellers, decisions, information about products and services, and, ultimately, transactions that have an economicaspect(whereeconomicvalueisusedinthebroadestsenseofanincentive,rewardormediumofexchange).
Marketsthathaveasignificantmixofopen-sourceofferingsfunctionnotjustthroughthemechanismofmonetaryexchange,butalsothroughthe“elegantcurrencies”ofrecognition,trustandnonmonetaryincentives.
BecausethemixofAjaxandRIAproductsandtechnologiesinthisMarketScopeincludesmanyofferingsthatarenotcommercialproducts, alternative inclusion criteria are needed to reflect the realityofmarketdecisions,whereprospectiveorganizationsarechoosingfromamong:
• RIAplatforms,suchasAdobeFlash/Flex,MicrosoftSilverlightorIBMLotusExpeditor
• Free,nonproductofferingsfromcommercialWebgiants,suchasGoogleGWT,YahooYUI,MicrosoftAjaxLibraryorAdobeSpry
• Community-based,open-sourcepackages,suchasjQueryorPrototype
• Vendor-centricopensource,suchasExtJS
• CommercialproductsfromRIAspecialistvendorssuchasBackbaseorNexaweb
Therefore,thecriteriamustbeamixoftraditionalandnontraditionalattributes,whichincludethefollowing:
• Revenue:AjaxorRIA-relatedannualrevenueofatleast$5million.
• Geographic presence:Officesinmorethanoneregion,suchasNorthAmerica,AsiaandEurope.
4• Vendor presence:Stabilityandlongevity.
• Market acceptance in one more of the following sectors: Top100websites,Global1000companies,Web2.0startupventures,ISVsandsystemintegrators(SIs),andthesmallormidsizebusiness(SMB)market.
• Ecosystem activity: As evidenced by marketplaces, aftermarketofferings,communityforums,books,seminars,andpartnerandchannelactivity(ITservicesfirms,SIs,distributors,Webinteractiveagenciesandadvisoryfirms).
• Gartner client interest:IndicatorsofinterestbyGartnerend-userclientsincludethenumberofinquiriestoanalystsviatheGartnercallcenteroratGartnerconferencesviaoneonones.
Thesecriteriaallowdisparateproductstobeincluded:commercialproductsfromenterprise-orientedvendors,aswellasnonproductofferingsandcommunity-basedopensource.TheMarketScope,therefore,includesvendors/packagessuchas:
• Backbase,whichisacompanywithover$10millioninrevenue,marketacceptanceinenterprisedeploymentsandpartners.
• JQuery,whichisacommunity-basedopensourceinusebythetop100websitesandthesubjectoftechnicalbooksavailableinmainstreambookstores.
• InfragisticsandMagicSoftware,whichareenterprise-orientedvendorswithover10yearsinthemarketandaboutwhichGartnerclientshavepostedinquiries.
Theinclusioncriteriawereanalyzedinaspreadsheetwithadozenattributes:vendorstrength(RIA-relatedrevenue,vendorlongevityandpartners),marketshare(amongenterprises,ISVs,high-endwebsites,andWeb2.0ventures),andproductattributes(Gartnerclientinterest,productfeaturesandecosystemactivity).Pointswereallottedbasedonstrengthintheseattributes,andvendorsorofferingsthatexceededacompositethresholdvaluewereincluded.
Numerousvendorsdidnotmeettheinclusionrankingthreshold,soweprovideacomprehensivelistofvendorsinthisspace(seeNote1).ExamplesofvendorsandofferingsthatarenotincludedinthisMarketScopeanalysisareMooTools,jMaki,SoftwareFX,Dundas,AJSandEcho2.
Rating for Overall Market/Market Segment
Overall Market Rating: PositiveAlthoughthemarkethasbeenaroundsincethefirstcommercialproductswereintroducedin2002and2003,itisstillinarelativelyearlystageofevolution,especiallywithregardtothemarketsegmentrelatingtoenterpriseRIAplatforms.ThisenterpriseRIAsegmentisa key aspect of this MarketScope because it is of primary interest to Gartnerclients,andbecauseithasstrongeconomicimplicationsthatwilldrivetherestofthemarketovertime.
Therefore,itisimportanttounderstandwhatismeantby“enterpriseRIAplatformmarketsegment.”Akeyaspectofdefining
thissegmentistheideaof“significantplatformcommitment”—asopposedtopilotprojectsor“oneofakind”tacticalprojects.Tacticalprojectsaremuchmorenumerousthanthestrategicplatformcommitments.
Themarkethasgonethroughvariousphases,whichGartneridentifiesasfollows:
• 1998 to 2002: Embryonic phase—withdemonstrationsoftechnology,suchasDesktop.com,butnocommercialproducts.
• 2002 to 2004: Nascent phase—withahandfulofproductsintroducedbypioneeringvendorssuchasBackbase,GI,JackBe,LaszloSystemsandMacromedia.
• 2004 to 2008: Early adopter phase—whichcanbebrokendownfurther:
• 2004 to 2006:YearofAjax(about24months),inwhichover100open-sourcetoolkitsproliferate.
• 2007 to 2008: YearofAdobeFlex(about18months),inwhichFlexgainsdominantshareamongearlyadoptersintheenterpriseRIAsegment.
• 2009 to 2012: Early majority phase —inwhichenterprisesmakestrategiccommitmentstoAjaxandRIAtechnologies.Someoftheseinitiativesareclient-centricRIAs,leadingtointensiveconflictbetweenAdobeandMicrosoft,whileotherinitiativesarebasedonextensionstoserver-sideplatforms(suchas.NET,Java,LAMP,andcloud-basedplatforms).
• 2012 to 2017: Platform-centric phase—inwhichclient-sidetechnologiesbecomemorecloselyunifiedwithserver-sideplatforms,andcustomersgravitatetotheirfavoredmajorplatformvendor(forexample,IBM,Microsoft,andOracle).
GartnerestimatesthatthevastmajorityofGlobal1000companieshaveexperimentedwithAjaxorRIAtechnologiesfrommorethanonevendor.TheseincludetechnologiessuchasAjaxontheonehand,andWPFontheother,andAdobeFlexandMicrosoftSilverlightinthemiddle.Thereareabout100-plusvendorsandtoolkitscoveringthebroadspectrumoftechnologychoices,whichrangefromlightweightAjaxtoextendedbrowser(Flash,Java,Silverlight)tooutsidethebrowser(AIR,WPF,Expeditor,JavaFx).However,intermsofmarketadoption,veryfeworganizationshavemadeastrategicplatformcommitment.Notethataplatformcommitmentdoesnothavetobeanenterprisewidemonoculture;itjusthastogobeyondasingleisolatedproject.Mostlargeenterpriseshavemorethanoneplatforminplace(i.e.,bothJavaPlatform,EnterpriseEdition[JavaEE]and.NET),evenfornonlegacyprojects.Alsonotethatthedepthoftechnologyusecanvarywithinanimplementation,fromasuperficial“coatofAjaxpaint”tobone-deeprip-and-replacewithRIA.
AMarketScopeisalensintendedtoprovideasclearaviewaspossibleofamarketlandscapetothe“average”Gartnerclient.However,thenatureofthetaskissuchthat,totheextentthatan
5organizationdiffersfromthenorm,thelenswillrepresentadistortedview(or,alternatively,onecansaythateachorganizationneedsitsownlevelofastigmaticcorrectiontoreflectitspriorities).Morespecifically,anorganizationthatisheavilyalignedwithonevendororanotherwillviewthemarketthroughalensthatisMicrosoft-centric,IBM-centric,Oracle-centric,etc.Gartnerhasobservedthat,inpractice,largeorganizationstendtohavemultiplevendoralignments,despitenominalallegiancetooneprimaryvendor.
AsecondchallengeinthisprocessisthattheMarketScopelensisfocusedonvendorsandnotonproducts.Inthecaseofsmallervendors,thevendor-centricviewalignsperfectlywithaperspectivecenteredonproducts.However,largervendorsoffermorethanoneproduct.Microsoftistheextremeexamplehere,withmanysignificantchoicesofproductsandtechnologiesthatrelatetothepresentationaspectsofanapplication,fromWPFtoASP.NETAjaxtoSilverlight,plusahalf-dozenotherchoices.Adobealsohasmultipleofferings,rangingfromopen-sourceSprytoFlextoAIR.Othervendors,suchasOracleandIBM,areinasimilarsituation.TherearealsovendorsthatstartedoutwithAjaxorRIAofferings,buthavesinceshiftedmarketemphasistosomeotherproductcategory(forexample,JackBeandLaszlo),butstillmarkettheiroriginalproducts.
ThevendorsinthisMarketScopeonlyhaveoneproductentryeach.Inthecaseofmultipleproducts,theevaluationaggregatestheproductmix,andgivesproportionatelygreateremphasistothepackagethatisofcoreinteresttoGartnerclientsthatareend-userorganizations.
GartnerclientsthatareaccustomedtoMagicQuadrants(andnotMarketScopes)shouldnotethatMarketScopespresentresultsinacoarse-grained,one-dimensionalranking(levels1through5,which
arelabeled“StrongNegative,”“Caution,”“Promising,”“Positive”and“StrongPositive”).Thisisdifferentthanthehigh-resolution,two-dimensionalpositioninaMagicQuadrant.TheMarketScopelabelsmaynotcapturethenuanceofavendor’sranking,includingtheimportantnotionofdirectionalmovement.Toillustrate,twovendorsrankedatthemidpointinthescale(Level3)bothcarrythelabel“Promising;”however,inonecase,thevendorhasdeclinedfromLevel5,andtheotherhasascendedfromLevel1.Also,thecoarse-grainedladderconsistsofonlyfivesteps,whichmightobscure the fact that a vendor near the top of one level may have moreincommonwithvendorsatthenextlevelthanwithlower-rankedvendorsinthesamelevel,duetotruncatinghigh-resolutionnumericalanalysistofitlow-resolution“buckets.”Therefore,itisimportanttoconsiderallaspectsofavendor’sevaluation:
• Writtendescriptionandanalysisofeachvendor
• Bullet-pointitemslistingpositiveandnegativeattributes
• Rankinglevel
Table1liststheevaluationcriteriaassociatedwithtraditionalcommercialvendors.Table2showsadditionalcriteriathatapplytothisMarketScope.Thesecriteriaareunchangedfromlastyear’sMarketScope.Whathavechangedaretheweightingfactors.ThepreviousMarketScopehadamixofweightings(low,standard,andhigh).Thisyearallweightsareeven(standard)withtheexceptionofOverallViability,reflectingtheprioritiesofmidstageadopters,whichoftenvaluevendorlongevityoverproduct-centricattributesliketechnicalarchitecture.
Evaluation Criteria
Product/Service
Offering(Product)Strategy
OverallViability(BusinessUnit,Financial,Strategy,Organization)
SalesExecution/Pricing
MarketResponsivenessandTrackRecord
Weighting
standard
standard
high
standard
standard
Table 1. Evaluation Criteria
Source:Gartner(December2009)
Comment
Coregoodsandservicesofferedbythevendorthatcompetein/servethedefinedmarket.Thisincludescurrentproduct/servicecapabilities,quality,featuresetsandskills,whetherofferednativelyorthroughOEMagreements/partnerships.
Thevendor’sapproachtoproductdevelopmentanddeliverythatemphasizesdifferentiation,functionality,methodologyandfeaturesetsastheymaptocurrentandfuturerequirements.
Viabilityincludesanassessmentoftheoverallorganization’sfinancialhealth, the financial and practical success of the business unit, and thelikelihoodthattheindividualbusinessunitwillcontinueinvestingintheproduct,willcontinueofferingtheproductandwilladvancethestateoftheartwithintheorganization’sportfolioofproducts.
Thevendor’scapabilitiesinallpresalesactivitiesandthestructurethatsupportsthem.Thisincludesdealmanagement,pricingandnegotiation,presalessupportandtheoveralleffectivenessofthesaleschannel.
Theabilitytorespond,changedirection,beflexibleandachievecompetitive success as opportunities develop, competitors act, customerneedsevolveandmarketdynamicschange.Thiscriterionalsoconsidersthevendor’shistoryofresponsiveness.
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Evaluation CriteriaBesidestheabove,thereareadditionalcriteriathatcanapplytononcommercialinitiatives(suchascommunity-based,open-sourceprojects),aswellascommercialventures(seeFigure1).
Vendor Product/Service Analysis
AdobeAdobehasmultiplepresentation-relatedtechnologiesthatGartnerclientsconsiderandevaluate,ThesefallundertheFlashPlatform,includingFlashPlayerforinsidethebrowserRIA,AdobeAIRforRIAoutsidethebrowser,AdobeFlexBuilderandtheopen-sourceAdobeFlexframework,aswellascomplementarytechnologies,suchasAdobeSpry(lightweightopen-sourceAjaxtoolkit),server-sidetechnologies,suchasColdFusionandLiveCycleDataServices,andhostedservices,suchasLiveCycleCollaborationService.TheratinginthisMarketScopeincorporatesallofthesetovaryingdegrees,butlargelycentersontheFlashplatformtechnologies.
AdobeisacompanybasedinSanJose,California,with$3.5billioninrevenueand6,000employees,bestknownforitsproducts addressed to the audience of creative and multimedia professionals:Photoshop,Acrobat,Premiere,Illustrator,etc.AdobeacquiredMacromediain2005,andincorporateditsflagshipproductsandtechnologies,suchasFlash,ColdFusion,DreamweaverandFlex.AdobeFlex,releasedin2004,representstheevolutionoftheFlashplatformintotheenterpriseandISVapplicationdevelopmentsector.Flex3isthethirdgenerationofthisRIAplatform,releasedinFebruary2008,alongwithAdobe’soutside-the-browsertechnology,knownasAIR.Adobe’sFlex4wasoriginallyscheduledforreleasein2009,butitisnowplannedfora2010releaseasaresultofextensivechangestotheFlexcomponentmodel.Thesechangesaredesignedtosupportacleanerseparationofpresentationandbusinesslogicthanwaspossibleinprioreditions.
Positives:
• Aproductthatisbothmodern(newtechnology)andmature(trackrecordinsuccessfuldeploymentsinenterprises,publicsitesandISVproductofferings).
• Avendorthatisnottoosmall(i.e.,notvulnerabletodownturnsinanyoneproductline),butnottoolarge(i.e.,stillagileenoughtomeetdynamicmarketrequirements).
• Atechnologythatisnottooheavy(i.e.,stillfitsinsideabrowser,withasmallfootprint),butnottoolight(i.e.,itismorepowerfulthanAjax),whileofferingoutside-the-browsercapabilitieswithAIR.
• Near-ubiquitousadoptionofruntime(97%ofInternet-connecteddevices).
• Dominantmarketshareintheemergingcategoryofenterprise-orientedRIAframeworks,aswellasstrongpresenceinISVandtop100Websectors.PartnershipswithISVsincludelargepowerhousevendorssuchasSAP,aswellassmaller,moreverticallyfocusedvendorslikesalesforce.com.RelationshipswithSIsincludelargeglobaldeliverycompaniessuchasAccentureandDeloitte.
• Technologythatislargelyindependentofserver-sideplatformssupportingJava,PHP,.NETandlegacytechnologystacksthroughanefficientservice-orientedaccesslayer(thisaspectcanalsobeanegative,dependingonthecontext).
• ArecognizedbrandnameandgoodreputationinWebanddesignfields(althoughnotasmuchinenterprise-classsoftware).
Evaluation Criteria
Market Adoption
Ecosystem Activity
Market interest
Technologyarchitectureandroadmap
Weighting
standard
standard
standard
standard
Table 2. Additional Evaluation Criteria
Source:Gartner(December2009)
Comment
Marketpresenceandmarkettractioninkeysegments,enterprisesector,top100websites,Web2.0startupventures,andISVs.
Developercommunity,resourcesforsupportandtraining,marketplacesforgoodsandservices,bookspublishedbymainstreamtradepress,blogcommentary,etc.
InquiriespostedtoGartnerbyend-userorganizations,referencesandpositioningbycompetitors.
DirectionshouldalignwithGartner’sviewofevolvingmarketrequirements,includingareassuchasdeclarativespecificationoflayoutandbehavior,coderefactoringandmaintenancetools,designer/developerworkflow,integrationwithserver-sideplatforms,interoperabilitywithtoolsandplatforms,etc.
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• PotentialsynergieswiththeWebanalyticsbusinessunitOmniture,acquiredearlierthisyearbyAdobe,includingpossibleinstrumentationoftheFlashandAIRruntimesandFlexframework,enablingoptimizationforhigh-valuecapabilities.
• Thoughtleadershipinunderstandingandmarketinguserexperiencedesign,includinginteractiondesignandvisualdesign.
• Strongmarketpenetrationintheconsumerspace,andgrowingacceptancebymobile-devicemanufacturerslikeResearchInMotion(RIM)andwith19outofthetop20devicemanufacturers.
Negatives:
• AlthoughAdobeisnotasmallvendor,itissmallerincapitalization,resourcesandchannels,thanWebgiantssuchasGoogleandITgiantssuchasMicrosoft,IBM,OracleandSAP.Itis,therefore,vulnerabletodirectcompetitionandpossibleacquisition.
• Adobetechnologyconsistsprimarilyofserver-independentpointsolutions,whichisanegativeforsomeorganizationsthatwantahomogeneousplatform(i.e.,amoretightlyintegratedblendofserverandclient-sidetechnologies).ThereissufficientaffinitywiththeJavaplatform,however,whichtempersthisnegativeinthatcontext.
• DespitebroadmarketacceptanceforAdobeflagshipproductsandtechnologies,suchasAdobeReaderandFlash,thecompanylackssignificantmarketfootprintin“bigIT”—centralizedITinfrastructure.
• AlthoughFlashispervasiveandFlexleveragesstandardssuchasJavaScript(thestandardizedversionknownasECMAScript),enterprisedeveloperswithskillsintheFlexandFlashplatformsarenotnumerouswhencomparedtootherWebtechnologies,suchasJavaScriptor.NET;inaddition,theECMAScript-basedlanguageActionScriptisuniquetoFlash,sodeveloperskillsinthatareacannotbetransferredtonon-RIAprojects.
Figure 1. MarketScope for Ajax Technologies and Rich Internet Application Platforms
Source:Gartner(December2009)
StrongNegative Caution Promising Positive Strong
Positive
Adobe xBackbase xDevExpress xDojo xExt JS xGoogle xIBM xICEsoft Technologies xInfragistics xIsomorphic Softw are xJackBe xjQuery xMagic Softw are xMB Technologies xMicrosoft xNexaw eb Technologies xOracle xPrototype/script.aculo.us xSun Microsystems xTelerik xTibco Softw are xYahoo x
As of December 2009
RATING
8• TheFlex4schedulehasbeenextendedtoimplementbetter
coexistencebetweenthenew“Spark”componentmodelandtheoldermodel.
• AswithotherpervasivelydeployedInternettechnologies(suchasInternetExplorer),Flashhashistoricallybeenthetargetofmanysuccessfulsecurityexploits.However,Adobehasalwaysactedquicklytofixthem,andlaunchedanewsecureproductlifecycleseveralyearsago.
Rating: Strong Positive
BackbaseFoundedin2003,BackbaseisoneofthepioneeringvendorsinthecommercialAjaxsector.ThecompanyisbasedinAmsterdam,theNetherlands,withofficesinSanFrancisco.Thecoreteamhasremainedtogethersincethefoundingstage.Thecompanyhas,overtheyears,evolvedamatureandpowerfulAjaxframeworkthatincludesalibraryofclient-sidecontrols,avisualdevelopmenttool,andserver-sideintegration.Ontopofthis,Backbaseoffersadd-onproductsforportal-centricsolutions,richWebforms,andcollaborativescenarios.Thecompany’smarketingemphasisisonexternal-facingscenarios,suchasself-serviceande-commercewebsitesthatneedtohavebroadreachandahighuserexperienceimpact.
ThecurrentversionoftheAjaxframeworkis4.4.1.TheRichPortalproduct,releasedinJune2008,isatv.4.1.Ontopofthisarecustomerengagementapplicationsforcobrowsing,chat,analyticsintegration,splitA/Btestingandmultivariatetesting,forms,andproductsearch.
OntheroadmapisatransitiontoopensourceforthefreeCommunityeditionoftheAjaxframework,reflectingtherealitiesoftheAjaxmarketplace.TheRichPortalwillbetheareaofstrategicgrowthforBackbase,tappingintoanemergingtrendoflightweight,client-side,portal-likesoftwareinfrastructure(AdobeMosaic).
Positives:
• Well-designed,full-featuredAjaxproductinamaturingmarket.
• Smallagilevendorthatunderstandsthemarket,especiallyforexternal-facingsites.
• Vendorhasachievedacertaintrackrecordandmarketpenetrationintheenterprisesector,aswellasamongpublicsites,comparedtootherclosed-sourcealternatives.
• Vendoriswell-positionedintheemergingcategoryoflightweight,client-sideportalframeworks.
Negatives:
• Commercialproductisatadisadvantageincertainscenarioswhencompetingwithfreeopen-sourcecommoditypackages.
• Smallvendorwithlimitedresourcesandlimitedbrandrecognition.
Rating: Positive
DevExpressDevExpresswasfoundedin1998toservetheBorlandDelphiandC++ aftermarket and has since become a key player in a cluster of aftermarket vendors that sell visual and business components forMicrosoft-relatedpresentationplatforms,suchasWPF,ASP.NETandWindowsForms.DevExpresscompetesdirectlywithInfragisticsandTelerik(vendorsalsocoveredinthisMarketScope),aswellaswithothervendorsinthismarketniche(ComponentOne,Dundas,Telerik,Janus,SoftwareFX,Xceed,GrapeCity,SharpLibrary,ComponentArt,Divelements,SpringSource,Syncfusion).Many of these companies play complementary roles for their hostplatformsbyfillingthegapsinthecontrolsetsforSilverlight,WindowsForms,etc.
TheDevExpressproductlineincludesover200products,fromcontrollibrariesforSilverlight,WPFandWINFormstointegrateddevelopmentenvironment(IDE)productivitytoolstoanobject-relationalmappingtool.MostDevExpressproductsshipwithsourcecode,asiscustomaryinthiscategory,butarenotopen-sourcelicensed.Oneformofpackagingisbyannualsubscription,whichrangesinprice(forthefirstyear)from$800to$2,000(forDXperienceUniversal).
OnewayinwhichDevExpressdifferentiatesitselffromcompetitorsisthatitprovideseXpressAppFramework(XAF),across-platformapplicationframeworkthatcantargetbothWindowsFormsandASP.NET(and,inthefuture,WPF).AlthoughXAFcompeteswithMicrosoft,thebulkoftheproductlineiscomplementary.DevExpresshasintroducedcontrolsfortheSilverlightPlatform,includingitsRichTextEditor,DataGrid,andUILayoutandManagementComponent.
TheecosystemaroundDevExpressincludesa600-pagebookfordeveloperspublishedbyWroxPressonASP.NETprogrammingwithDevExpresscontrols.
Positives:
• Solidlineofcomponents,andaframeworkthatallowsdeveloperstodevelopbothbrowser-basedandoutside-the-browserapplications.
• SmallvendorthathassurvivedforalongtimeintheshadowofMicrosoft.
• Loyalcustomerbasehasadoptedcomponentproductsonatacticalbasis.
Negatives:
• Smallcompanyinacrowdedaftermarketsectorwhoseframework-levelproductnowcompetesmoredirectlywithMicrosoft.
• Customersviewthecompany’sproductsastacticalandcomplementary,ratherthanstrategicandself-contained.
Rating: Promising
9DojoLikePrototype,Dojoisapioneerinthecategoryofcommunity-based,open-sourceAjaxtoolkits.Thecompanywascreatedin2004bypeopleassociatedwithInformatica,JotspotandRenkoo.ThetoolkitisavailableundereitheraBerkeleySoftwareDistribution(BSD)oranAcademicFreeLicense(AFL)license,andisthemostinfluentialAjaxpackagebyvirtueofitsearlyentranceintothe sector, the community that rose around it and the support of majorvendorssuchasIBM,Oracle,BEASystems(beforeitwasacquired),SunMicrosystemsandLaszloSystems.
TheDojotoolkitnowconsistsofalayeredportfoliooftechnologies,startingwitha26KBcorethatprovidesaneventmodel,anobjectmodelandfacilitiesforanimation,communicationanddebugging.OnthiscoreisDijit,acomponentframeworkandlibraryofusercontrols(menus,trees,calendars).ThenthereisDojoX,anextensibilitymechanismthatsupportsserverpush(Comet),offlinemode(GoogleGears),aunifiedvectordrawingmodelandthird-partyextensions(suchasdojo.EfromNexaweb).TheDojoportfolioincludessupportforaccessibilityandinternationalization,andsomeperformancemanagementcapability.Version1.4ofDojowasreleasedinearlyDecember2009.
Dojo’smostdirect“competitors”areotherleadingcommunity-based,open-sourcepackages,suchasPrototype/script.aculo.us,jQueryandYahooYUI.AnimportantdifferentiatorforDojoisitspackagesystemandbuildtools,whichsupportlarge-scaleteams(asinenterprisedevelopmentprojects)buildingvoluminouscodebasesovertime.OnerecentchangetotheDojoprojecthasbeenthedepartureofAlexRussell,aco-founderandkeycontributorsince2004,movingfromSitePen(aconsultancycloselyalignedwithDojo)toGoogle,whereRussellwillbeinvolvedinnon-Dojoprojects(althoughcontinuingtoserveaspresidentoftheDojoFoundation).RussellcontinuestocontributetoDojoprojectsoutsideofhis“dayjob.”
Positives:
• Earlyposition,stronginfluenceandhighvisibilityinthecategoryofopen-sourceAjax.
• Supportfrommajorvendors,includingIBMandOracle.DojoisacorporatewidestandardatIBM,supportedacross30products.
• Earlyadoptionandtrackrecordinsomemajorsites,suchasAOLMailandMapQuest,aswellassomeWeb2.0ventures.Also,DojoisusedformobileWebdevelopmentinProjectAresfromPalm.
• Packagesystemenablescodebasestoscaleinsize.
• DojoFoundationalsosupportsotherprojects,suchasCometD,OpenRecordandDWR.
Negatives:
• Novendorisstrategicallycommittedtothesuccessofthisproject(anattributethatcanalsobeviewedasapositive).However,IBMisastrategicplayerthatcansustainDojoovertheshorttermandmidterm.
• Perceptionofslowedmomentumrelativetonewertoolkits(jQuery,MooTools),althoughDojohadtwomajorreleasesin2009.
Rating: Positive
Ext JSExtJSv.3.1isaJavaScriptlibraryfromExtJSthatwascreatedasanextensiontotheYahooYUItoolkit.TheauthorofExtJS,JackSlocum,ischiefarchitectatExtJS,acommercialventurefoundedin2006aroundthisJavaScriptlibrary.Thepackageisavailableeither under a commercial license or under the General Public License(GPL)v.3.Whenusingtheopen-sourcelicense,developersareobligatedtoreleaseapplicationsthatincorporatetheExtJSlibraryasopensourcealso.ExtJShasseensteadygrowthinadoption since its initial release in 2006, and the company reports thatroughly10%ofitspayingcustomersareenterprises.TheExtJSsitehasmorethan100,000registeredmembers(anincreaseofroughly50%sincethe2008editionofthisMarketScope).Thecompanysaysithas10,000customers.Lastyear,thecompanyintroducedExtGWT(nowatV2.1),aseparateproductthatextendsGWTwithricherJava/JavaScriptcapabilities.
Positives:
• Libraryhasgoodreputationforthequalityofitscomponents,whichwereinitiallyasupplementtoYahooYUI,butarenowself-containedandcanoptionallyinteroperatewithotherAjaxframeworks.
• ExtJSisacommercialvendorwithanawarenessofenterpriseneedsandtheapplicationlifecycle.It’sgainingvisibilityandmarkettractionintheenterprisesector.
• Thecompanyreportsstrongyear-over-yearrevenuegrowth,agoodindicatorofgrowingpenetrationbeyondtheopen-sourcemarket.
Negatives:
• Extisasmallprivatevendorcompetingwithcommoditizedopen-sourcetoolkitsthathavethrivingcommunities.
• AdoptionofExtJSandExtGWTiscenteredprimarilyonSMBs,withonlyamoderatefootprintintheenterprisearena.
• Companyhasbeencriticizedformultiplechangestoitssoftwarelicense,fromBSD(inYUIExt)toLesserGPL(LGPL;inExtJS1.0)tomodifiedLGPLtoGPL3—thelatest,whichsome observers think is too restrictive and results in an unwanted“viral”effect.However,thereareenterprisesthatwon’tchooseopensourceinanyform,andinsteadpreferacommerciallicense.
Rating: Promising
10GoogleGoogleisclearlyoneoftheWeb’slargestandbest-knowncompanies,withover20,000employees,$21.7billioninannualrevenuein2008,and$5.8billioninearningsbeforetaxes.IntheAjax/RIAspace,GoogleoffersGWTandtherecentlyintroducedGoogleClosuretools.
GWTisatoolintendedtoleveragetheskillsoftheserver-sideJavaprogrammerwhodoesnotknowJavaScript(averydifferentlanguagethanJava).DeveloperswritecodeinJava,whichgetstranslatedbythesystemtoJavaScriptforclient-sidedeployment.GooglehasbuiltasophisticatedtechnologytoallowdeveloperstodebugandprofileattheJavasourcelevel,withouthavingtodescendtoinspectingmachine-generatedJavaScriptcode.GWTcantakeadvantageoftheoptimizationcapabilitiesofastaticallytypedlanguage(Java),comparedtothemoredifficultchallengeposedbydynamicallytypedlanguages(JavaScript).
GWTsupportsdevelopmentinInternetExplorer(IE),WebKitandFirefox.GWTisserver-andIDE-neutral,allowingJavadeveloperstoworkwiththeirfavoriteIDE.Thereisaplug-inforEclipse,andthereisthird-partysupportforNetBeansandIntelliJ.TheGWTbrowserplug-inallowsdeveloperstoworkinJavawithoutfirstcompilingtoJavaScript.Forsometime,astickingpointamongdevelopersregardingGWThasbeenthatGoogleitselfdidnotuseGWTinitsflagshipapplications(Gmail,Maps,Docs)—instead,aJavaScript-basedapproachwasused,ratherthanGWT’sJava-centricapproach.However,GoogleWave,aninnovativereal-timecollaborationandmessagingapplication(currentlyinbeta)witharichuserinterface(UI)isbuiltusingJavaontheserverandGWTontheclientside.GWTisusedbyAdWords,amission-criticalapplication,aswellasemergingofferingssuchasGoogleHealth,Latitude,Moderator,andProfiles.
AsanalternativetoGWT,GooglealsooffersGoogleClosuretools(introducedinNovember2009).ClosureconsistsofasetofJavaScripttoolsusedintheconstructionofGmailandMaps:aJavaScriptcompiler/optimizer,alibraryofUIwidgetsandcontrols,andatemplatingsystem.TheClosureToolspackagedoesnotenjoythemarketadoptionanddevelopermindshareofGWT.
Positives:
• Well-craftedtoolkitfortheJava-centricdeveloper,incorporatingend-to-endcoverageoftheapplicationdevelopmentlifecycle.
• LeveragestheGooglebrandandecosystem,andhasperceivedvendorstabilityandlongevity.
• GWT’sprominentroleintheGoogleWaveprojectaddscredibilitytoGWT.
• GWThasmaturedinscopeandpowersinceitsreleasein2006,culminatinginav.2.0releaseinDecember2009.
Negatives:
• Javafocusisneutral(i.e.,isnotcompelling)toWeb2.0developers.
• GoogledoesnotuseGWTforitsmostvisibleandpopularproducts(Maps,Mail,Apps),partlybecausetheproductspredateGWT,andalsobecausetheyarewritteninnon-Javalanguages.
• TheGooglebrandispositive,butnotcompelling,toenterprisedevelopers.
• GWTsidestepsmajortrendsinJavaplatform,suchasJavaServerFaces(JSF).
Rating: Positive
IBMIBMisoneofthelargestandmostinfluentialvendorsintheenterpriseITsector.LikeMicrosoft,IBMhasbeenprojectingamarketingmessageforyearsaroundtheconceptof“richclient”or“smartclient.”IBMhasarangeofpresentation-relatedtechnologiesandplatforms.IBMwasanearlyforcebehindAjax,DojoandtheOpenAjaxAlliance.Likewise,IBMhasadoptedAjaxtechniquesinitsownWebSphereportalandWebSphereCommerceServer(usingDojoandOpenLaszlo)andinmanyproducts.IncludedinIBM’srangeofofferingsrelatedtopresentationareEnterpriseGenerationLanguage(EGL)RichUIandLotusForms.
Thecasecanbemadethatnootherenterprisevendorispromoting,deliveringandexploitingAjaxtechnologymorethanIBM,whichhasmadeextensiveuseofthistechnologyinmultipleproductlines.However,usingthetechnologywithinaproductisdifferentthanpackagingandsellingthetechnologyinawaythatmeetsAjax/RIAbuyers’expectationsandrequirements.AlthoughIBMisusingDojoinawidespreadandstrategicmanner,intermsofthemarketofAjax/RIAbuyers,theperceptionofastronglinkagebetweenDojoandIBMisnotwidespread,anditappearsthatmostearlyadoptersofDojoasadevelopmenttooluseitdirectly,ratherthanthroughintermediaries.WithregardtoIBMdevelopertools,thesehavebecomeAjax/RIA-enabledaswell,sothat Rational, Notes and WebSphere developers can enhance the userexperienceofbothexistingandnewapplications,includingmashups.
OneofIBM’sstrategicRIAplatformsisLotusExpeditor,whichcanbeusedeitherasa“fullstack”outside-the-browserenvironmentbasedontheEclipseRichClientPlatform(RCP)orasanadjuncttothebrowserforlocaldesktopanddataintegration.Itprovidesadditionalcapabilitiesforofflinestorage(scaled-downDB2relationaldatabasemanagementsystem[RDMS]),systemmanagement,provisioning,etc.Whilehighlyconfigurableinnature,Expeditorcanbedeliveredfromaruntimeassmallas3MBuptoa100Mbnetworkdeliveryimage,whichcanbecompared(albeitinanapples-to-orangesfashion)withAjaxtoolkits(includingIBM-backedDojo)thatare20Kbinsize.However,thearchitecturebehindExpeditorallowsforthepossibilitythatitmaybeusedinbrowserplug-in-typescenariosaswell,whichwouldbroadenitsappealsubstantially.
LotusExpeditor’smaincompetitorsareoutside-the-browsertechnologiesfromMicrosoft(WPFandSilverlight3)andAdobe(AIR).Allofthesedesktop-environmentofferingshavebeenburdenedbytheperceptionofcost(hardwareresourceutilization)
11andcomplexity—althoughAdobeAIRhasgainedmoremarkettractionthantheothers,atleastinthehighlyvisibleconsumerspace(forexample,Twitterclients,suchasTweetdeck).Intheenterprisesector,theinstalledbaseofLotusNotes,SametimeandSymphony—allbuiltonExpeditortechnologyfoundation—inaggregatemayexceedthatofAIR.AllhaveseenslowmarketupdaterelativetothemeteoricgrowthinlightweightAjaxtechnologies,andcomparedtothemoremodest,butstillstronggrowth,inthemidmarket,withinside-the-browserapproaches,suchasAdobeFlexandMicrosoftSilverlight.
IBMstandstobenefitfromthemarketshifttomidleveladoptersthathavestrongplatform/vendoraffinity.(Thatis,organizationswhosefavoredmegavendorisIBMwillincreasinglyadoptoneofthemanyUIofferingsfromIBM.)
Positives:
• IBMhashistoricallybeenamajorforcebehindAjaxingeneralandDojoinparticular,andmakesextensiveuseofAjaxandRIAinitsproductlines,includingitsserver-centricdeveloperplatforms.Theseleavethecompanywell-positionedifandwhenthe market evolves to a perspective that values comprehensive, server-centricapproaches(whichGartnerexpectstooccurasmainstreamusersadopt).
• ExpeditorisapowerfulRIAframeworkwithcomprehensivesubsystemstosupportenterprise-scaleinitiatives.
• ExpeditorleveragesEclipse(awidelyuseddevelopertool)andJava(adominantenterpriselanguageandplatform),andallowsintegrationandinteroperabilitywithAjax.
• EclipseisusedasthetechnologyfoundationforrevampedLotusNotes,SametimeandSymphonyclients,whichcanresultinsynergyandinacceleratedmaturityofthetechnology.
• Expeditorhaspotentialinbrowserplug-inscenariosinthefuture.
• Expeditorpromotesoptionalsystem-levelprogrammingtoaugmenttheAjaxenvironmentbasedonsymmetricdeploymentofOSGi,whichisnowtheunderpinningofeverynon-Microsoftserverinactivedevelopment.
Negatives:
• IBM’ssuccessinusingDojoandincorporatingintotoolsisnotthesameassellingRIAplatformstobuyersintheAjax/RIAmarket.
• The“fullstack”approachusedinExpeditormeansalargefootprintandacomplexenvironmentfordevelopers,buttheincremental,networkdeliveryoffunctionmeansenterprisescanstartsmallandgrowthesystemasneedsdictate.
• ApplicationsfortheExpeditorplatforminitiallyhadtobedesignedasEclipseplug-ins,whichrepresentedadesignobstaclefortheaverageapplicationdeveloper.Thisconstrainthasbeenrelaxedinrecentversions,whichsupportabroaderrangeofWebdevelopment,includingHTML5.
• AlthoughEclipsehasanextensivetrackrecordasadevelopertool, it has a much more limited history as an application deploymentplatform(whichisthewayitisusedinExpeditor).
• Overtheyears,themarketingmessagefromIBMhaschanged(alongwiththeExpeditorproductname)multipletimes,resultinginaslowrateofadoption.
Rating: Positive
ICEsoft TechnologiesICEsoftwasformedin2001andisbasedinAlberta,Canada.ThecompanyisasmallbutkeyvendorinthecategoryofJava-basedenterpriseUnix(UX)technologies.ICEsoftisbestknownforICEfaces,anopen-sourceAjaxframeworkforJavaEEdesignedtoprovideenhancedAjaxfunctionalitytoJSFcontrolsinamannerthatislargelytransparenttodevelopers.ICEfacesischaracterizedbyaserver-centricarchitecturalapproachinwhichallapplicationlogiciscodedinJavaandexecutesinastandardJavaEEapplicationserverenvironment.Speedandresponsivenessaregainedbypushingrenderingfunctionstotheclientside,whilekeepingbusinesslogicontheserver.Supportingthistrigger-based,server-initiatedrenderingisAjaxPush(alsoknowninsomecirclesasComet,reverseAjax,orHTTPstreaming).
ICEsoftalsomarketsanEnterprisePushServerthatprovidesAjaxPushcapabilitiesforJSFapplicationsandthePushServer(includedwiththeopen-sourceversionofICEfaces).ThecompanyisalsodevelopingICEpush,aimedatpackagingareal-timenotificationmechanismfromICEfaceswithabroaderrangeoftechnologiesthanJSF.
Thecompanystatesthatapproximately90,000JavadevelopersusethisJSFframework.ICEfacesisdistributedundertheMozillaPublicLicense(MPL)open-sourcelicense;anextendedversion(ICEfacesEE)islicensedastraditionalcommercialclosedsource.
OutsidetheAjax/RIAcategory,ICEsoftalsomarketsanopen-sourcelibrarythatallowsJavaprogramstodisplayandprintPDFdocuments.
Positives:
• StrongJSFcomponentlibraryinthesparselypopulated(i.e.,withrespecttocompetitors)JSFmarketniche.
• Userbasethatisgrowingsteadily.
• Leading-edgefocusonAjaxPushdesignconcepts.
12Negatives:
• Smallvendorcompeting,(albeitindirectly)withOracle,alargestrategicvendorwithstrongcommitmenttoJSF.
• Alsocompetingwithdiverseandnumerousnon-JSFalternativesinthebroaderAjaxandRIAsector.
Rating: Promising
InfragisticsInfragisticsisacompanyformedin2001throughthemergerofaMicrosoft-focusedaftermarketvendor(SheridanSoftware)withaJava-orientedvendor(ProtoView,foundedin1989).Infragisticshasbecome a key player in a cluster of aftermarket vendors that sells visualandbusinesscomponentsforMicrosoft-relatedpresentationplatformssuchasWPF,ASP.NET,WindowsFormsandSilverlight.TheprimaryofferingintheAjaxspaceisNetAdvantagefor.NET(debutedin2001,withav.2releaseinOctober2009).AmorerecentofferingisNetAdvantageforSilverlightDataVisualization.Productsaresolddirectly,aswellasthroughchannelpartners,andarepricedbelow$2,000.
InfragisticscompetesdirectlywithDevExpressandTelerik(vendorsalsocoveredinthisMarketScope),aswellaswithothervendorsinthismarketniche(ComponentOne,Dundas,Janus,SoftwareFX,Xceed,GrapeCity,SharpLibrary,ComponentArt,Divelements,SpringSource,andSyncfusion).Manyofthesecompaniesarecomplementarywiththeirhostplatforms,byfillingthegapsthroughvisualcontrols(datagrids)andreport-orientedcomponents.
InfragisticsdifferentiatesitselffromDevExpressbysupportingawiderrangeofplatforms,includingJSF.InfragisticshasbeenslightlybehindDevExpressinproducingacomprehensiveframework,ratherthanalooselyconnectedsetoflargecomponents.InMarch2008,InfragisticsintroducedAikido,whichisbuiltontheMicrosoftASP.NETAjaxLibraryandprovidesalayerofadditionalcomponents.InOctober2008,Infragisticsrepackagedits product line to smooth the transition for its customers from WINFormsandASP.NETtotheExtensibleApplicationMarkupLanguage(XAML)platforms(WPFandSilverlight).
Positives:
• SolidsuiteofcomponentsacrossallMicrosoftUXtechnologies.SpecializedvendorthathassurvivedforalongtimeintheshadowofMicrosoft.
• Loyalandlong-standingcustomerbase.
Negatives:
• Smallcompanyincrowdedaftermarketsector.
• Manycustomersviewthecompany’sproductsastactical,notstrategic.
Rating: Promising
Isomorphic SoftwareIsomorphicSoftwareisbasedinSanFranciscoandwasfoundedin1998.ThecompanyhastwoproductofferingsintheAjax/RIAsector:SmartClient(nowatv.7.0,releasedinMay2009)andSmartGWT(v.2.0releasedinDecember2009).ThetwoproductlinesshareacommonAjaxengineandhavefeatureparity.TheSmartGWTofferingallowsAjaxdevelopmentinJavaviaGWT,andachievedabout90,000downloadsinthefirstthreemonthsafterrelease.BothproductstargetenterpriseWebapplicationsandapplicationmodernizationscenarios,andallowincrementalupgradeoflegacyWebapplications.
Bothproductsareofferedinafreeopen-sourceversionundertheLGPLlicense,aswellasunderacommerciallicense.Thefreeversionsincludealibraryofover150UIcomponentsintendedtocompetewithUIcomponentsofferedbyotherserver-neutralUItechnologies,suchasExt,DojoandFlex.CommerciallylicensededitionsintroduceJava-based,server-sidecapabilities,suchasdatabinding,datavalidation,andtransactionhandling.CommercialeditionsalsoincludeVisualBuilder,ascreendesignandmockuptoolwithwizard-drivendatabindingtools.
ISVsthatusetheSmartClienttechnologyincludeIntuitandInformatica.EnterprisecustomersincludeJ.P.MorganandBlueShield.
IsomorphicrecentlyintroducedVisualBuilderOEM,whichallowsanISVtoshipamodifiedandcustomizedversionofIsomorphic’sVisualBuilderthatallowsenduserstocustomizeandextendtheISV’sproduct.
Positives:
• Broad,multifaceted,butcohesive,frameworkandcomponentlibrary.
• SteadymarkettractionwithISVsandenterprises.
Negatives:
• SmallcompanycompetinginacrowdedsectoragainstlargerestablishedITplatformvendorsandcommoditizedopen-sourcepackages.
Rating: Promising
JackBeJackBeisoneofthepioneeringvendorsinthecommercialAjaxtoolkitcategorywithitsPrestoEnterpriseAjaxFramework,butthecompanyhasrefocusedonenterprisemashupsandusesitsAjaxFrameworkprimarilyasacomplementarytechnology.JackBeoffersacomprehensiveAjaxFrameworkandtoolsetforbuildingrichWebapplications.JackBe’smarketingeffortsaredirectedatthemashupsector,andJackBehascollaboratedwitherstwhilecompetitorsKapowTechnologiesandAdobe,aswellaswitharangeoftechnologyimplementationfirmstoformtheOpenMashupAlliance(OMA;see“OpenMashupAllianceNeedsMoreSupporttoCreateStandardization”).TheOMAisdedicatedtoexpandingtheroleandprofileofmashupswithintheenterprise;asthefoundingmemberof
13theOMA,JackBecontributedallthealliance’scurrenttechnologyassets.JackBe’smashuptechnologyisUI-neutral,supportingRIAframeworksbasedonAjax,FlexandSilverlight.
Positives:
• Well-designed,full-featuredclosed-sourceAjaxlibraryandframeworktargetedtotheenterprisesector.
• Growingnetworkofsystemintegrationpartnersandothervendorrelationships.
• ThePrestoEnterpriseAjaxFrameworkoffersagraphicaldevelopmentenvironment,afeaturelackingfrommostopen-sourcelibraries.
Negatives:
• IntheAjaxcategory,theclosed-sourceproductiscompetingwithcommoditizedopen-sourcetechnologies.
• Smallvendorwithlimitedresourcesandbrandrecognition.
• AlthoughAjaxisanenablingtechnologyfortheincludedpresentation tier of its Presto Mashup Server products, it is not strategicfromarevenuestandpoint.
Rating: Promising
jQueryOneofthemostprominentcommunity-based,open-sourceAjaxlibrariesisjQuery,initiallyauthoredbyJohnResiginJanuary2006,andwithv.1.0releasedinAugustofthatyear.Thepackagehassincegrownrapidlyinvisibilityandinfluence,throughamixofelegantcodingtechniques,well-writtendocumentation,andbroadindustryadoptionbyvendorssuchasMicrosoft,Oracle,andNokia.
Thepackageisabout100kbuncompressed(30kbpacked),availableundereithertheMITortheGPLv.2license.
Positives:
• Elegantarchitecturewithwell-writtendocumentationandsmallfootprint.
• SupportfromMicrosoftandNokia.
• Adoptioninhigh-visibilitywebsitessuchasFandango,Twitter,BankofAmerica,Amazon,NetflixandDell.
• Abilitytocoexistwithothertoolkits,suchasPrototype.
• Startingtogaintractionintheenterprisesector.
• Supportinarangeofopen-sourceprojects,includingWordPress,DrupalandJoomla.
Negatives:
• Competinginadynamicspacewithotherevolvingtoolkits(YUI,Dojo,MooTools,Prototype).
• Notasfull-featuredasother(larger)Ajaxlibraries.
Rating: Positive
Magic SoftwareMagicSoftwareisbasedinIsraelandhasbeeninexistenceformorethantwodecades.Inthe1990s,itsmainproductwasafourth-generationlanguage(4GL)systemthatwonawardsforitshighproductivity.Thecompany’sfocusisnowanapplication-platform-as-a-service(APaaS)offeringcalleduniPaaS,withv.1.8releasedinOctober2009.ThisisaWeb-basedmultitenantRIAthatusesadeclarativeruleenginetodeploytoarangeoftargets,includingpureHTML,aswellasbrowser-plug-in-basedand.NET-basedclientsforbothdesktopapplicationsandWindowsMobileapplications.TheprimaryadoptershavebeenmidsizetolargeenterprisesandISVs.
Positives:
• Vendorhasbeenalongtimeplayerintheapplicationdevelopmentsector.
• Supportsmultipleclienttargets,including.NET,JavaandHTML,forbothdesktopandmobile-devicedeployment.
• Supportson-premisesandmultitenanthosteddeployments.
• UniPaaSprovidesanend-to-endplatformfordevelopingapplicationswithgraphicaluserinterfaces,includingserver-sidebusinesslogicandRIAclientbehavior.
• UniPaaScanbelicensedforon-premisesuse,butitisalsoavailableasanAPaaS.
Negatives:
• Smallvendorwithlittleglobalpenetrationintheenterprisesector.
• Commercialvendorcompetingwithrapidlyevolvingopensource,nowcompetingwithMicrosoft,aswell.
• Enterpriseclientsmaypreferapointsolutionthatintegrateswithexistingtechnologyinvestmentstoacompleteserverandclientstack.
Rating: Promising
14MB TechnologiesMBTechnologies(MBT)isbasedinWarnerRobins,Georgia,andwasfoundedin2002,withadevelopmentcenterinSweden.MBT’smainAjax/RIAproductisBindows,anAjaxframework.Additionalrelatedproductsincludeaframeworkfordatavisualization,aJSF-compatiblelibraryofAjaxcomponents,alibraryofvector-basedAjax-enabledgauges,andavisualeditorfordevelopingAjax-basedsmartphoneapplications.
Bindows4.0wasreleasedinFebruary2009.Earlierversionsdatebackto2004.Theframeworkisofferedonaper-developerbasisunderacommerciallicensethatincludessourcecode,plusaper-serverdeploymentlicense.Websitesthatarefreetothepublicdonothavetopaytheper-serverdeploymentfee.Intranetsarelicensedseparately.
Theframeworkisentirelyclient-side,andsupportsadeclarativeXML-baseddescriptionformatfordefiningapplications,whichiscompiledtoJavaScriptatdevelopmenttime.Theframeworkincludessupportforbrowser-basedvectorgraphics,aswellasbasicanimations.
BindowsistargetedtotheenterprisemarketbutalsohassomeISVadoption(forexample,InformationBuilders’WebFOCUSandOracleHyperion).AlongtimedifferentiatorsincetheearlyversionsofBindowshasbeenitssupportforSection508accessibilitycompliance.ThisisstillakeypartoftheBindows’marketmessage.
Positives:
• Full-featuredframeworkwithdeclarativeXMLdefinitionformatandsupportforobject-orientedJavaScript.
• Strongcommitmenttoaccessibilitycompliance.
Negatives:
• Smallvendorcompetingwithmatureopen-sourceproductsandlargeplatformvendors.
• Accessibilitydifferentiatorhaserodedovertimeascompetitorshaveaddedthiscapability.
Rating: Promising
MicrosoftMicrosofthasbeenarticulatingamessagetodevelopersabout“smartclient”andrichUItechnologyformuchofthepastdecade.Thecompanyhasmanydifferenttechnologyofferingsinthiscategory,includingWPF,WindowsForms,Silverlight,CommonUIApplicationBlock,PrismCompositeUIframework,theMicrosoftAjaxLibrary(whichhasaclient-sideaspectandanASP.NETserver-centricaspect)SharePointWebParts,andMicrosoftOfficeasadeveloperplatform.Thislistdoesnotincludelegacypresentationtechnologiesandplatformsthatarestillinproduction,suchasVisualBasicandWin32GDI.
SilverlighthasrapidlygrowingmindsharethathasalreadyhadanimpactinthemarketandthatGartnerexpectswillcontinuetogrowintostrongmarketshare.AlthoughcustomerinterestiscurrentlycenteredonSilverlight,itisworthnotingthatmanyMicrosoft-centricorganizationsalreadyhaveacapableplatformforenterpriseWebapplicationsintheformofASP.NET,whichofferstheMicrosoftASP.NETAjaxLibrary(formerlyAtlas)asawayofdeliveringanenhanceduserexperience.FormanyorganizationsconsideringSilverlightforstraightforwardenterpriseapplications,buildingonASP.NETmightbeamorepragmaticandcost-effectivechoice.Ontheotherhand,developmentteamsbuildingapplicationsthatneedtodisplaydigitalrightsmanagement(DRM)-protectedcontentorextendedofflinemodewillchooseSilverlight.Ofcourse,technologychoicesarenotalwaysmutuallyexclusive,andhybridscenariosmayrepresenttheoptimumwaytobalancepriorities.
Silverlightpackagesthepowerfulfeaturesof.NET-basedWPFintoalighter-weight,cross-platformoffering.Itcanbeusedforeitherexternal-facingwebsitesorinternal-facingapplications.Itcanalsobeusedforbuildingapplicationsthatworkinsidethebrowseroronthedesktop,andforapplicationsthatworkwhethertheuserisconnectedtotheInternetornot—withoutthedownloadofaseparateruntime.
Silverlighthasrecentlygainedgreatvisibility,hasexcellentpotentialandisexperiencingstronggrowth.MicrosoftrecentlyannouncedandshippedabetaofSilverlight4.Version4includesmanyfeaturesformediausesuchaswebcamsupport,microphonesupport,offlineDRMandlivestreaming(includingawaytostreamtoiPhones).Version4alsoincludesmoreout-of-browsersupport,aswellassupportformorebrowsers(e.g.,GoogleChrome),andmanagestodoallthisstillina5MBdownload.
Silverlightalsohasmanyfeaturestargetedatenterpriseline-of-business(LOB)usessuchasprinting,richtext(includingright-to-leftdisplayforthosekindsoflanguages),clipboard,rightclick,mousewheelsupport,draganddrop,andhostingHTML(andotherplug-inslikeFlash).OnesignificantenhancementistheabilitytocompileonceanddeployonSilverlight4and.NET4.Thiswillopenthedoorformanyuseswithinenterprises.
Silverlightcontinuesitsmarchtowardprovidingmoreandmoreofthefunctionalityof.NET,fullWPFandWindows.ButthedifferencebetweenSilverlightandWPFiscontinuingtoshrink.Silverlight4evensupportsmultitouch,aswellasmore-directhardwareaccess.
Positives:
• Brings.NETtechnologytothebrowserinacross-platformmanner,andleveragestheskillsofanestimated6million.NETdevelopers.
• SupportedbythebroadecosystemofMicrosoftserviceproviders,SIsandISVs,includingsomecompanieslistedinthisMarketScope(suchasDevExpress,Telerik,andInfragistics)thatprovide development services, additional component libraries, frameworks,trainingandsupport.
15• Supportformultipleprogramminglanguages,includingdynamic
languageslikeRubyandPython.
• Microsoftisasystematicanddiligentcompetitoroverthelong-term,andthestrategicemphasisonSilverlightistocontinueintothefuture.
• Supportforintegrateddeveloper-designerworkflow.
• Strongdevelopmentprocessaroundsecurity,resultinginaverygoodtrackrecordfornewdeployment.
Negatives:
• Linkagetothe.NETplatformandtoolsisperceivedasanegativebysomenon-Microsoft-centricorganizations,althoughSilverlighthascross-platformattributesonboththedevelopmentsideandthedeliveryside.
• MicrosoftstilltrailsAdobeininstallationsandinconsumerusage.
• Microsoft’splethoraofUI-relatedtechnologiescreatessomedeveloperconfusion.
• Microsoftdoesn’thaveastrongfollowingintheWebdesigncommunity.Itsstrengthisintheenterprisedevelopmentcommunity.
Rating: Strong Positive
Nexaweb TechnologiesNexaweb,alongwithvendorssuchasBackbase,Tibco(GI),JackBeandLaszloSystems,formthecontingentofpioneeringcommercialvendorsintheAjaxandRIAsector.Nexawebwasfoundedin2000andshippeditsfirstproductin2001.WhileBackbase,JackBeandGIapproachedthespacefromtheAjaxdirection,andLaszlofromaFlash-basedbrowserperspective,Nexawebinitiallytookaclosed-source,Java-basedapproach.Thisapproachhassincebroadenedtoincludeopen-sourcelicensing,server-sideprocessing,andAjaxsupport.Applicationscanruneitherinsidethebrowserorinaself-containedJavaVirtualMachine(JVM)outsidethebrowser.Server-sidefunctionsincludeanInternetmessagingbusforreal-timenotifications.
ThecurrentproductisEnterpriseWebSuite(EWS),includingPlatformandStudio(anEclipse-basedIDE).Version4.5ofthisofferingwasreleasedinDecember2008.Nexawebalsosellsanapplicationmodernizationtool,aswellasatradingacceleratorthatincludescomponentsforrapidconstructionofonlinetradingsystems.Forscenariosinvolvingincrementalenhancementstowebsites,Nexawebcreatedanopen-sourcedeclarativeextensiontotheDojolibrary,calleddojo.E,whichisinusebyseveralenterprisesforWebpage/portalpageenrichment.Nexaweb’sdeclarativelanguageisextensibleAjaxplatform(XAP),whichisnowanopen-sourceprojectattheApacheFoundation’sincubator.
AlthoughNexaweb’sprimaryfocusistheenterprise,thecompanyalsohassomepenetrationintheISVmarketsegment.ISVcustomersincludeOracle(IdentityManagement),EMC(ControlCenter),andSunGard(InvestarOne).
Nexaweb’srecentmarketfocushasshiftedtoemphasizethemodernizationoflegacyenterpriseapplications(writteninPowerBuilder,VisualBasicandOracleForms).ThisisachievedthroughNexaweb’senhancedversionoftheopen-sourceSpringframeworkwritteninJava.NexawebhasalsostartedtoaddsomeverticalfunctionalityforbuildingRIAswithEWS.Thefirstsetofdevelopmentacceleratorsincludesprebuiltelectronictradingcomponents/functionalitythatacceleratetheprocessofcreatingWeb-based,end-to-endtradingapplications,includinglow-latencymessaging,ahighlyconfigurableclientadministrationframeworkforbankingcustomers,andaframeworkforconfiguringdifferentassetclassestobetradedintheRIAtradingapplication.
Positives:
• PioneeringparticipantinAjax/RIAsector.
• Generalarchitectureallowsmultiplatformtargeting,bothAjaxandJava,insideandoutsidethebrowser.
• SomepenetrationintotheenterprisesectorandISVs.
Negatives:
• Smallcompanywithlimitedresourcescompetingagainstgiantsandagainstopen-sourcealternatives.
Rating: Promising
OracleOraclehasbeenintheRIAmarketsince2003,withAjax-basedpartialpagerenderingcapabilities.OracleactivelymarketsitsRIAtechnologiestoday,mostofwhichareencompassedintheADFFaces11gproduct.ADFFaces11gisanAjax-centricenvironmentwithover150Ajax-enabledJSFcomponents.ADFFaces11gusesarichJSFrenderingkitthatrendersHTMLcontentaswellascorrespondingclient-sidecomponents,withapplicationlogicresidingmostlyontheserver-side,executingintheJSFlifecycle.
ADFFaces11gresonatesbestwiththeexistingOracledevelopercommunity.Itisdefinitelyadeveloper-centricproduct(versusenduser).WhilethecomponentscanbeusedwithanyIDEorcodeeditor,OracleJDeveloperprovidesavisualanddeclarativeenvironmentforbuildingapplicationsthatuseADFFaces.
OraclehasanotherproductthatbuildsontheRIAfunctionalityofADFFaces:OracleWebCenterSuite.OracleWebCenterSuiteisOracle’sstrategicportalproduct,andistheprimaryUIforOracleFusionApplications,Oracle’snext-generationbusinessapplications.Inadditiontoactingasaportalsolution,OracleWebCenterSuiteaddsprebuiltEnterprise2.0servicesandcomponentsintotheRIAcapabilitiesofADFFaces—includingfunctionssuchas
16discussions,presence,tagging,enterprisesearch,andcontentmanagementintegration.OracleWebCenterSuiteincludessupportforAjaxcomponents,aswellassupportforAdobeFlash.
Positives:
• Largevendor,andlargedevelopercommunityandecosystem.
• GoodcollectionofprebuiltAjaxcomponents.
Negatives:
• Productisbest-suitedforOracledevelopers,buthaslimitedappealforotherusers.
• Focusisonserver-centricprocessing.Thiscanactuallybeapositiveoverthelong-term,asapplicationdevelopmentmanagerswantamoreconsistent,managed,server-centricenvironmentfortheirapplications.
Rating: Positive
Prototype/script.aculo.usPrototypeisfoundation-levelAjaxtechnologythatisoftenusedinconjunctionwiththescript.aculo.usUIlibrary.Bothareopensource,arepurelyJavaScriptandhavedistinctidentitiesbutoverlappingcommunities.Version1.6.0.3ofPrototypeisthecurrentversion,firstavailableinSeptember2008.ItisopensourceundertheMITlicenseandisavailableasasinglesourcefile(about4,200linesofJavaScriptcode,whichweighsinat128kbuncompressed)athttp://prototypejs.org/assets/2008/1/25/prototype-1.6.0.2.js.
Script.aculo.usbuildsuponthecorePrototypeframeworkbyaddingananimationengine,drag-and-dropeffects,sliders,fades,autocompletion,etc.ThepackagehasPrototypeembedded,andisavailableasa194KbytecompressedJavaScriptcollectionfromhttp://script.aculo.us/downloads.
Major“competitors”areopen-sourcepackagessuchasDojo,jQueryandYahooYUI.OnedifferentiatoristhatPrototypeisgearedtothe“writeyourownwidgets”developerwhoislookingforasolidbutlightweighttechnologyfoundationuponwhichtobuildcustomcomponents.High-profile,public-facingwebsiteslikeApple,CNN,IkeaandGuccithatwantadistinctlookandfeelhavechosenthePrototype/script.aculo.uscombination.
Positives:
• OneoftheearlytoolkitstopackageAjaxknow-howintoanopen-sourceoffering.
• Strongadoptionfromhigh-trafficsites.
• Multilayermodularstructuremakesadoptionpossibleinstages.
• Emergingecosystemoftrainingandsupportresources(books,communities).
Negatives:
• Novendorhasbecomestrategicallycommittedtothesuccessofthisproject.
• Notasfull-featuredasotherlargertoolkits.
Rating: Positive
Sun MicrosystemsAswithanylargeplatformvendor,SunMicrosystemshasarangeofpresentation-orientedtechnologiesandplatforms,goingbacktothemid-1990sandthedaysofvenerableJavaapplets.Earlysuccessinclient-sideUItechnologywasslowedduetoinconsistentimplementationsanddiscontinuoustransitionswithUIlibraries(fromAWTtoSwing).Forthepastdecade,Sun’sJavahasfoundsuccessinstrategic,server-side,enterprise-scaleplatforms(JavaEE),buthasnotbeenavisibleparticipantinclient-sidecompetitivearena,cedingthegroundtoAjaxtoolkitsandFlash-basedRIAapproaches.
SunintroducedJavaFXinDecember2008,whichrepresentsitsattempttoplaycatch-upinrich-clienttechnologies.JavaFXisalayerontopofthestandardJavaruntime,whichaddsmultimediacapabilities,adeclarativescriptinglanguage,andaruntimeenvironmentthatsupportsinside-the-browser,outside-the-browserandmobiledeployments.
Sun’svaluepropositionistoJava-centricorganizationsthatwantaunifiedtechnologyfoundationacrossclientsandservers.Sunclaimsover500,000JavaFXSDKdownloadsand50MJavaFXdesktopruntimedownloadspermonth.Someoftheearlyinteresthastranslatedintoproductionsites,suchasaJavaFXapplicationforthe2010OlympicWinterGamesinVancouver,Canada.
AcountercurrenttoSun’smarketmomentumistheuncertaintyaroundthependingOracleacquisition.OntheroadmapforJavaFXis Composer, a visual layout tool for developers, and, later in 2010, anauthoringtoolfordesigners.
Positives:
• Sun’sJavatechnologyhasbeenamainstayoftheWebformorethanadecade.
• BroadecosystembuiltaroundJava,includingplatformvendors(IBM),ISVs(Oracle),andmanySIsandglobalITservicesfirms.
Negatives:
• LateentryintomarketterritoryinhabitedbyAdobe,Microsoftandothervendors.
• UncertaintyaroundthependingacquisitionbyOraclehasbeenaninhibitingfactorinmarketadoption.
Rating: Promising
17TelerikTelerik,foundedin2002,isbasedinSofia,Bulgaria,withofficesintheU.S.andGermany,andemployingover200people.ThecompanycompetesdirectlywithDevExpressandInfragistics(vendorsalsocoveredinthisMarketScope),aswellaswithothersmallvendorsinthisnicheofMicrosoft-centricaftermarketproducts(vendorssuchasComponentOne,Dundas,Janus,SoftwareFX,Xceed,GrapeCity,SharpLibrary,ComponentArt,Divelements,SpringSource,andSyncfusion).
Telerik’sprincipalproductintheAjax/RIAsectorisRadControlsforASP.NETAjax.ThisproductisalibraryofcontrolslayeredontopofMicrosoft’sASP.NETAjaxframework.TeleriksimplifiesAjaxprogrammingonASP.NETbyusingacodelessdrag-and-dropAjaxcomponentthateliminatestheneedtomanuallyplaceUpdatePanels,asisnormallydone.TelerikcontrolsforASP.NETincludesCalendar,Captcha,RatingRotator,andTabstrip.TelerikreplacestheASP.NETpostbackmechanismwithafullAjaxcallback approach that enables the developer to support a broader rangeofcomplexuserscenarios,includingcross-cloudsupportforWindowsAzurePlatformandAmazonWebServices.Telerik’sRadEditorforASP.NETisaWeb-based,rich-texteditorthatcomplieswithaccessibilityguidelinesforvisuallyimpairedusers.
Telerik’sotherkeyproductisRadControlsforSilverlight,whichbuildsonSilverlight3byadding38controls.TelerikcontrolsforSilverlightincludeaRibbonBar,TreeViewandTimePicker.TelerikalsomarketslibrariesofUIcomponentsforWPFandWINForms,andplanstoreleaseafullsuiteofcomponentsforSilverlight4(SL4)atthetimeofSL4’sreleasefromMicrosoft.AdditionalofferingsfromTelerikincludenon-UItoolsandcomponents,suchasanobject-relationalmappingtool,atestframework,aprojectdashboardandacontentmanagementsystem(CMS).
Thecompanyestimatesthatithasabout150,000developersworldwide,aboutone-thirdofwhomareenterprisedevelopers;therestareinsmalltomidsizecompanies(includingISVs).Thecompany’sdeveloperforumhas325,000registeredusers.
Positives:
• BroadlineofcomponentsacrossthemajorMicrosoftUIplatforms.
• SmallvendorthathassurvivedforalongtimeintheshadowofMicrosoftandcontinuestogrow.
Negatives:
• Smallcompanyincrowdedaftermarketsector.
• Company’sproductsaretacticalandcomplementary,ratherthanstrategicandself-contained.
Rating: Promising
Tibco SoftwareTibco,viaitsacquisitionofGIin2004,isoneoftheearliestISVsofanysizetoentertheRIAmarket.GIwasfoundedin2001asanAjaxtoolkitvendor,andTibcohasdoneagoodjobofassimilatingtheGItechnologyintothemainstreamofitsUXproducts.Forexample,TibcohadthefirstAjax-enabledportalproductonthemarket.TibcoGIisamature,enterprise-classAjaxplatformoptimizedfordevelopmentandmanagementoflarge-scale,browser-basedapplications.Itincludesafull-featureddeveloperenvironment,aswellasacompletefunctionaltestingframeworkandperformancetools.
AninterestinginnovationisPageBus,apub-submodelthatallowsgadgetstocommunicatewitheachother,andisthedrivingforcebehindtheOpenAjaxAllianceHubinitiative.TibcocontinuestosupporttheGItechnologyasopensource,buthasalsocontinuedtoeffectivelymarshaltheevolutionofthetechnology.Tibcorecentlymigrateditsopen-sourcepresencetotheDojoFoundation.Infact,thefoundersandleaddevelopersofTibcoGIarestillworkingforTibco,fiveyearsaftertheacquisition.OnefounderleftTibcolastyear,butrecentlyreturnedtothefold.
Positives:
• Full-featured,enterprise-classAjaxtoolkit.
• LonghistoryofprovidingAjaxsolutions.
• Successfulopen-sourceimplementation.
• PotentialforsomebrandsynergywithTibcoTibbr,arecentinnovativeentryintosocialcomputing.
Negatives:
• Tibcoisaintegration-centricvendor.Assuch,TibcoGIiswell-hiddeninthecompany’sproductportfolio,andisequallyinvisibleinthemarketplace.
Rating: Promising
YahooYahooisamajorplayerintheconsumerWebsector,andoperatessuchpropertiesastheMyYahooportal,Flickrphoto-sharing,YahooMail,YahooStoree-commercestorefront,etc.TheYUItoolkitisafreeandopen-sourceAjaxtoolkitwritteninpureJavaScript.Thepackagecontainsnotjustaframeworkandwidgets,butalsoutilities(logger,compressor),customersupportsystem(CSS)tools,anddesignpatterns.Yahoo’sinterestindevelopingYUIisprimarilyforitsownuse,notfortraditionalsoftwaresales.Itfindsvalueingettingfeedbackfromotherswhouseitsopen-sourcetechnology.YUIv.3.0wasrecentlyreleasedandrepresentsasignificantimprovementoverearlierversionsoftheUI.AlthoughYUIisusedmostlyinthepublicWebenvironment,interestinthispackagenowreachesbeyondpublicsitestotheenterprisesector.AkeyattractionofYUIisitsstatusasopen-sourcesoftware.Recentdevelopmentshavemadethisevenmoreattractiveduetothetwo-waytransferofcode.
18Yahoohashaditsshareofpainanditsupsanddownsasacorporateentityoverthepastyear.Itisalsonotoutofthewoods.However,YahooYUIhasbeenmostlyimmunetothesetravails.ThisislikelybecauseYUIisopensource,andbecauseitsprimarilyadoptershavebeenWeb-centriccompanieswithinternalresourcesthatarelessconcernedaboutvendorviability(or,rather,measurethisinthesamescaleasMooToolsandotheropen-sourcetoolkits).
Yahooseemstobere-energizedunderCEOCarolBartz,andistryingtoreachouttotheenterprisesector.TheYahooteamwasveryresponsiveandprofessionaltoGartnerqueriesforthisresearch—anindicatorthatthecompanyisnotsittingstillorlettingthingsslidedownhill.
Positives:
• Full-featuredAjaxtoolkitfortheWeb2.0developer.
• LeveragestheYahoobrandandecosystem,includingtheYahoodesignpatternlibrary.
• Multiplereleasesovertime,withproductionuseonMyYahooandtheYahoostartpagesincemid-2005.
• Goodadoptioninthetop100websites,andoneofthetopthreeAjaxlibrariesinthebroad-scopesitesurveyconductedbyOperainDecember2008(1millionwebsitessurveyedviacrawler).
Negatives:
• Yahoobrandlostsomelusterinearlierintheyear,andthecompanyhasseensomestaffdeparturesandlayoffs,resultinginperceptionofanuncertainfuture.Thisperceptionistemperedbyrecenthigh-profileinitiativesledbynewCEOCarolBartz,includinga$100millionadcampaign.
Rating: Positive
Vendors Added or DroppedWereviewandadjustourinclusioncriteriaforMagicQuadrantsandMarketScopesasmarketschange.Asaresultoftheseadjustments,themixofvendorsinanyMagicQuadrantorMarketScopemaychangeovertime.AvendorappearinginaMagicQuadrantorMarketScopeoneyearandnotthenextdoesnotnecessarilyindicatethatwehavechangedouropinionofthatvendor.Thismaybeareflectionofachangeinthemarketand,therefore,changedevaluationcriteria,orachangeoffocusbyavendor.
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Gartner MarketScope DefinedGartner’sMarketScopeprovidesspecificguidanceforuserswhoaredeploying,orhavedeployed,productsorservices.AGartnerMarketScoperatingdoesnotimplythatthevendormeetsall,fewornoneoftheevaluationcriteria.TheGartnerMarketScopeevaluationisbasedonaweightedevaluationofavendor’sproductsincomparisonwiththeevaluationcriteria.ConsiderGartner’scriteriaastheyapplytoyourspecificrequirements.ContactGartnertodiscusshowthisevaluationmayaffectyourspecificneeds.
Inthebelowtable,thevariousratingsaredefined:
MarketScope Rating FrameworkStrong PositiveIsviewedasaproviderofstrategicproducts,servicesorsolutions:
• Customers:Continuewithplannedinvestments.
• Potential customers:Considerthisvendorastrongchoiceforstrategicinvestments.
PositiveDemonstratesstrengthinspecificareas,butexecutioninoneormoreareasmaystillbedevelopingorinconsistentwithotherareas of performance:
• Customers:Continueplannedinvestments.
• Potential customers:Considerthisvendoraviablechoiceforstrategicortacticalinvestments,whileplanningforknownlimitations.
PromisingShowspotentialinspecificareas;however,executionisinconsistent:
• Customers:Considertheshort-andlong-termimpactofpossiblechangesinstatus.
• Potential customers:Planforandbeawareofissuesandopportunitiesrelatedtotheevolutionandmaturityofthisvendor.
CautionFaceschallengesinoneormoreareas.
• Customers:Understandchallengesinrelevantareas,anddevelopcontingencyplansbasedonrisktoleranceandpossiblebusinessimpact.
• Potential customers: Accountforthevendor’schallengesaspartofduediligence.
Strong NegativeHasdifficultyrespondingtoproblemsinmultipleareas.
• Customers:Executeriskmitigationplansandcontingencyoptions.
• Potential customers:Considerthisvendoronlyfortacticalinvestmentwithshort-term,rapidpayback.