the open source web services play

It's been a long-time coming, but as you'll see in the right navigation, under the links for Glassfish and Diamelle, there is a new link for openIAM, or Identity and Access Management. By clicking on this link, you'll be taken to a project on Google's new open source repository site, that was recently launched from Diamelle's Suneet Shah. This is the first complete solution for IAM in the open source space, and it has been pre-announced ad nuseum on this blog, and I am just really glad to see it come to life. Lots to do, as Mary Mary would say.

But as we're talking about the right nav., I guess you may have noticed the new links to the Glassfish crew, including a button for the Aquarium. Now, I understand why java.net is a valued repository that does not let any project off-the-web become a standard on this venerable Java site. I get it, guys. But I am going to stick my neck out and risk some of my newfound goodwill with the Glassfish team by saying that I think its time to move beyond Reference Implementation stabilization, and pitch to the marketplace a roadmap of sorts for Glassfish-to-be-Wombatfish. I am frankly somewhat stymied by the lack of information on where java.net intends to take the current combination of projects. Here's my suggestion:

Get a roadmap together
Discuss openESB and openSSO integration with openJava EE
Let customers know when Glassfish/Wombatfish get fail-over capabilities
Put together a go-to-market plan

I am not really sure what is going on in Sun software these days, as Jonathan and John have taken all thunder and placed it in the revenue model of Galaxy sales. That's great for Wall St., but it doesn't do much for Sun's customers who are busily investing in SOA and Java. At least Niagara gave a model for Java app sales that was 1:1 compatible for hardware sales. Ok, Im off message a little...

Sun software has never been in such a strong position, and part of me thinks it is somewhat by accident because there is not a follow-through plan that I can detect. If there were, we would be sensing something coming out of Sun that would explain why on earth it is joining the SCA/SDO coalition:

http://www.theserverside.com/news/thread.tss?thread_id=41577

I can only imagine what Mr. Bauhus is thinking about his JBI intiative, when non-standard, non-Java implementations get more airtime from Sun PR than the vital JBI program for openESB. Once you lose momentum on an initiative where people want to bury it initially, it is very difficult to keep the JBoss' of the world on the semi-support front. But that is not my main concern.

I just don't get a cohesive feel from the java.net site, which I now understand to be Sun's software strategy going forward. I am not getting traction which is to be expected of a semi-autonomous representative of a small ISV. But I am the closest thing to family outside of the payroll, and I can't get an answer back on what are the next steps. The bottom-line is this: software marketing and software engineering are not aligned at Sun. The SDN, GSO, and Java Web Services org.'s within Sun should be all over the three initiaitives I laid out in the itemized plan above: openJava EE, openESB, openSSO. But they are not concentrating on any software initiaitive.

It makes me think back to the rise of the reign of JS when some Wall St. analyst was propping him up by saying that from here on out, software would begin to represent most of Sun's profits. That simply is not true today, even though it very well could be a plan. Project Orion is only viable with integration, and that will only happens via java.net. It doesn't take me to say this for it to be obvious. While we wait around for the open sourcing of Java, the real business flounders. Is this by design? I don't think so. But until some of my questions get answered in the press by Mr. Bauhaus, or some initiatives get revealed by Mary Mary, then I will be a bit sceptical.

Remember guys, when you go open source, you have a responsibility to the community which you have grown to make the commitment to be successful. It just baffles me that all the tools are in place, and yet nothing comes out that gives me a jolt like I am part of a market-changing initiative that is about to blow-up on the web. I get that sense from the small steps taken by Diamelle with openIAM. I don't get that same feeling from Sun Software. Eduardo, Rich, Pratik, I challenge you to make it happen...