Oracle vs. SAP: The SOA factor
SAP is beating Oracle on the SOA front, but IBM has got the edge over them both, says one expert. But who's in front may not matter for many just yet. Plus, SOA planning tips.
German business applications giant SAP AG is beating its chief rival, Oracle, in the battle for the hearts and minds of the
Also, Bloomberg said, database management systems are key components of the SOA infrastructure, so it's important to use a DBMS that supports XML natively. Most DBMSs support XML reasonably well, he said, but it's a good idea for organizations to do product comparison to determine if they have the right skills in-house to make the most of the specific XML features found in each product.
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Finally, people interested in SOA need to remember that SOA is not a product, it's an architectural approach.
"Do not expect to buy SOA from any [one] vendor," Bloomberg said. "[SOA is] an approach that leverages heterogeneity, so if any vendor says, 'buy my stuff a you'll get a SOA in a box,' they're pulling the wool over your eyes. No vendor can say that truthfully."
Some organizations, like the government offices of Jefferson County, Alabama, simply don't have the time or resources to begin an SOA development project.
According to David Shockey, a systems analyst with Jefferson County, his group is too busy trying to replace legacy mainframe applications with less expensive off the shelf software, all while working within the confines of a tight budget.
"SOA is really not taken into account into our decision making process," Shockey said. "Someday [we'll implement SOA], just not now. There are too many other priorities."
Oracle, SAP and IBM race for SOA dominance
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Oracle, meanwhile, is busy contending with a massive software integration undertaking called ;Oracle Fusion -- the result of nearly 30 acquisitions over the past four years -- and promises to deliver a complete Java-based and SOA-enabled business applications stack beginning in 2008. This Fusion challenge for now is costing Oracle on the SOA mindshare front, according to Bloomberg.
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And then there's Big Blue.
"IBM has the broadest and deepest SOA story of any vendor, with their solid software and professional services offerings as well as the depth of each across product lines and verticals," Bloomberg said. "They're everyone's number one competitor."
