Nemertes Impact Analysis

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Nemertes provides expert insight on how recent IT news affects you.

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Sun Fishes For BEA Customers

Sun (NASDAQ:JAVA) is using special pricing and incentives for users of
Oracle's (NASDAQ:ORCL) middleware platforms, Fusion, and recently-acquired BEA
WebLogic. Sun hopes that Oracle's hiking the list price for WebLogic nearly 50%
will have loosened customers' attachment to it.

Nemertes' research suggests both hope and caution: Participants in the
Service-Oriented Architectures and Applications benchmark were less
attached to pure-play middleware vendors such as BEA was, but they were strongly
attached to strategic application and database vendors, such as Oracle.

Impacts:

Enterprises: If you are a BEA customer not otherwise deeply committed to
Oracle, the price issue makes this an offer worth examining closely.

Vendors: As other pure-play tools vendors get snapped up by the large
platform vendors, watch for opportunities to pry lose their customers.

Investors: Sun sits on one of the richest technology treasure chests around
and, through Java, is nearly omnipresent; It is either going to turn itself
around and succeed, or be acquired. Either way, it may be time to buy some stock
and wait to see. Also, watch middleware vendors Progress (NASDAQ:PRGS) and SOA
Software (private) as potential targets for acquisition by Sun, Oracle, or HP
(NYSE:HPQ).

John Burke, Principal Analyst

http://blogs.sun.com/ontherecord/entry/sun_counters_rising_middleware_prices
http://www.nemertes.com/benchmarks/nemertes_benchmark_softwareoriented_architectures_and_applications