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 COLUMN
A memo to Pat Sueltz TO: Patricia C. Sueltz, President, Software Products and Platforms, Sun Microsystems
Pat, it's time to declare victory. Java won. If Gartner is right, moving forward the market will be split 40-40 between J2EE (Java 2 Enterprise Edition) and Microsoft's .Net. With Java developers earning more than their VB (Visual Basic) counterparts, Microsoft has countered with C# to stem developer hemorrhaging. So Java won. The loose coalition of J2EE vendors has successfully sold the idea to Wall Street and beyond that Microsoft is all about lock-in, and Java is about open. Microsoft has countered with XML, and SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol), and UDDI (Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration): A stack of XML Web services that promise interoperability and plug-and-play components seamlessly meshing across the global Net. Here's the hard part. If you declare victory on Java, then it's time to put Java on the mantelpiece alongside "Microsoft owns the desktop" and join the XML revolution. No holds barred. Not the begrudging embrace of SOAP only after Elvis had left the building. So Java won. Long live XML. Take the marketing ball back from Redmond and trumpet your advantages. J2EE 1.4 may be six months away (at least) with its built-in Web services stack, but you've got some powerful allies who are in the thick of it. BEA and its Adam Bosworth-led CrossGain team are likely to enter the market with a PowerBuilder-like Web services development tool. Sun's Forte tools continue to leverage the open source NetBeans community to drive innovation in wireless and Web service componentry. HP's turned its Bluestone acquisition into freeware. So Java won. Replace the word Java with XML. Call it X2EE. "IBM today announced a new release of its WebSphere XML application server." Or "Sun announced release to manufacturing of its XAJ-Pack suite of XML tools, adding Java support to Sun's XML Web services platform." I know it sounds a little goofy, but imagine how Bill Gates felt when he did a global search-and-replace of "Windows" with "XML" for his Forum 2000 speech announcing .Net. Remember what .Net was originally called -- NGWS, for Next Generation Windows Services -- or was it Next Generation Web Services? Repetition is everything in marketing. That's why it's so damaging to hear over and over again that Sun is way behind on XML Web services. That's also why it's so damaging to hear Sun executives spend so much time complaining that Microsoft is using its desktop monopoly to extend its dominance into other areas. "I think there's a huge issue about controlling all aspects of the Internet," Sun President and COO (and your boss) Ed Zander told me recently. "I thought there were ways that [the Justice Department] could impose certain restrictions on Microsoft that would still allow them to compete and innovate and be No. 1 in their spaces, but allow all of us to also have the opportunity to sell our products." In their spaces? I assume he means the operating system, but what else? The Office suite, certainly. But servers? Mobile devices? Online networks? Developers? All areas where Sun and its X2EE partners hold substantial leads. Here repetition sends a message of insecurity, weakness, and inevitability. But that's just the tip of the iceberg, fodder for the mainstream press looking for the simple hook. Pat, there's a fundamental disconnect going on here that reaches further down. Take Sun's position on HailStorm, Microsoft's so-called consumer-focused, real-time Web services. I say consumer-focused not just because Microsoft calls them .Net My Services but because Sun executives perceive them as just that. I fear this is what Zander meant by "their spaces." More than one Sun executive has told me that Sun is content to let Microsoft have its way with HailStorm on the desktop. "It's not scalable. They won't be able to translate that to the kind of enterprise-strength secure technology that we're going to ship through our iPlanet server to corporations," is how the pitch goes. But what if this common wisdom is wrong? What if the best strategy to counter Microsoft is to emulate its XML Web services message, invest in matching the discounts and media tie-ins that will evangelize this pervasive platform, and stitch together the necessary ingredients from your coalition of X2EE partners? Specifically, integrate SOAP with Jxta's peer-to-peer architecture to provide thick-client support not just for Palm devices but Pocket PC and Symbian devices as well. Make an aggressive effort to make the Liberty Alliance interoperable with Passport via SOAP and XML-RPC (Remote Procedure Call) now, not later when you have to leap on board as the train pulls out of town. Take a page from Nokia's playbook and team with BEA, Iona, Hewlett-Packard, SilverStream, and startups such as Kenamea to fast-track XML Web service infrastructure targeted at both server and desktop spaces. Pat, you were the prime mover at IBM in jump-starting Java, XML, and the relationship with Sun that led to J2EE. I'm hoping you can continue to compete and innovate and be No. 1 in your space. Steve Gillmor is the InfoWorld Test Center director. Reach him at steve_gillmor@infoworld.com  RELATED SUBJECTS  Web TechnologiesMORE > SPONSORED WHITE PAPERS 
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