Does the App Server Market Still Exist?

By Jean-Christophe Cimetiere of TechMetrix Research

• J2EE-based solutions
• Non-J2EE solutions
• Microsoft solution

By Jean-Christophe Cimetiere of TechMetrix Research J2EE-based solutions Non-J2EE solutions Microsoft solution An alternate way to do this is to segment the market by development model (e.g.

An alternate way to do this is to segment the market by development model (e.g., open source software vs. proprietary solutions).

Before proceeding further, it is worthwhile to define the role of the application server. Under TechMertrix’s definition, “an application server provides an infrastructure and set of services that make it possible to serve applications using Internet-related technologies.”

Although the title of this article is deliberately provocative, the application server market has evolved greatly over recent months. This evolution is so significant that the application server’s very function is increasingly being seen as a basic commodity within any e-business infrastructure, just as the “file system” is seen as a basic function in any operating system. The distinguishing features now come at the level of the applications and frameworks that rely on the application servers.

The application server selection process can therefore be broken down into the three technical categories described above. We shall illustrate how, out of the 40 vendors identified, there are few products in which it is really worth investing.