marketscope for ajax technologies and rich internet

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.

19

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.