IBM Previews New Software To Help Customers Build, Deploy and Manage Web Applications
IBM WebSphere Software Accelerates Move to e-business
ORLANDO, Fla (May 05, 1998) – IBM today detailed plans for a new software product line that provides an ideal foundation for customers to use to build, deploy and manage Java**-based Web applications.
The new software, called IBM WebSphere*, will help companies of all sizes expand their Web presence and accelerate their move to e-business. IBM introduced WebSphere at Technical Interchange ?, its annual conference for software developers, which runs from May 5 to May 8 in Orlando, Fla.
“Today, customers are looking to transform their Web servers from simply tools for publishing information into powerful platforms that support enterprise-strength business applications,” said Paraic Sweeney, vice president, Web Server Marketing for IBM. “With our new WebSphere software family, IBM is providing an open foundation and tools to help users accelerate the process of moving to e-business.”
Building on Proven Technology
The WebSphere software builds on IBM’s experience in providing customers with integrated, cross-platform solutions. It incorporates technologies that have underpinned IBM’s work on major high-profile Web sites including the 1998 Nagano Olympic Games and The 1998 Masters** golf tournament.
The initial offerings in the product line include the IBM WebSphere Application Server, which provides the base technology for supporting Web applications, and the IBM WebSphere Performance Pack, which makes Web sites more reliable and scalable. Together, these products will provide customers with the capability to easily establish Web sites that can grow as their needs change.
According to Mike Gilpin, vice president and senior analyst at Giga Information Group, the use of Web application servers is becoming an important industry trend. “Growth in the application server market is being driven by customer demand for easier, more comprehensive solutions for building, deploying and managing distributed applications for Web and other enterprise environments,” he said.
In a future release, IBM plans to extend the WebSphere product line with an integrated tool set for creating dynamic Java applications that can be deployed and managed on a Web site on the Internet, intranet or extranet. IBM also intends to integrate the popular NetObjects** Fusion and IBM VisualAge* for Java tools with WebSphere.
With the WebSphere Application Server software, IBM is redefining the value that developers can expect from a Web server. The software combines a runtime environment for Java servlets with connectors to common database formats, industry-standard object request brokers, and enterprise middleware. This makes it easier to create and manage a productive Web presence in a heterogeneous computing environment.
The WebSphere Application Server will run on major industry HTTP servers including Netscape** Enterprise Server, Netscape FastTrack Server, Microsoft** Internet Information Server, Apache** Server and the Lotus Domino Go Webserver*.
The first release of WebSphere Application Server — which will include the runtime environment, initial connectors and an HTTP server — is planned for release by the end of June. At that time, pricing and availability information will be provided. An update of the IBM WebSphere Application Server runtime beta code, known as ServletExpress, is available today for download at http://www.software.ibm.com/webservers. Developers have already requested more than 5,000 downloads of the prior beta version.
The second software offering, the WebSphere Performance Pack, will allow Internet Service Providers and corporate information technology departments to reduce Web server congestion, increase content availability and improve Web server performance. It consists of three components: an enterprise file system, a caching proxy server and a load balancing/server monitoring capability. With this software, customers can efficiently handle peak loads and support 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year availability.
WebSphere Performance Pack is planned for commercial availability by the end of June. At that time, pricing and availability information will be provided. Additional information on the software, which is currently available in beta form on the IBM AIX* and Sun Solaris** operating systems, can be found on the Web at http://www.software.ibm.com/webservers.
Source: IBM