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IBM raises the bar with the latest version of WebSphere

The InfoWorld Test Center puts IBM's WebSphere Application Server 3.5, Advanced Edition through the grinder

By Tim Fielden, InfoWorld, 10/20/00

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Now that the Internet has gained acceptance as a viable medium for conducting business, the new challenge for corporations has become how to make their old static Webpages richer and more dynamic.

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TEXTBOX_HEAD: The Bottom Line

IBM WebSphere Application Server 3.5, Advanced Edition

Business Case
This Web application server should get a close look from any corporation interested in easier and more effective integration of legacy applications and data with the Web. WebSphere also improves resource utilization.

Technology Case
WebSphere Application Server 3.5 provides a robust and portable application deployment environment and stellar application management. Application-level partitioning and load balancing round out a complete set of features.

Pros

  • Excellent integration opportunities with existing business systems and the Web
  • Works with a wide variety of databases and Web servers
  • Excellent scalability and reliability
  • Provides full support of Enterprise JavaBeans


Cons

  • Huge appetite for system resources


Cost
,500 per processor

Platforms
Windows NT/2000, Solaris, AIX, AS/400, and HP-UX

IBM; Armonk, N.Y.; (800) 426-3333

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Whether that need is driven by customers or business partners, many companies have found that, while developing applications for their new environment may not pose much of a challenge, integrating the new with the old has often proved harder than imagined. You must negotiate language differences (for example, you may have to port old COBOL apps to Java), reconcile interface discrepancies, and generally learn how backend legacy applications work -- often with little documentation or past experience available.

To make matters worse, increasing the complexity of your Website usually means exposing data to public scrutiny that was once held securely and privately behind corporate walls. And when your data is more vulnerable, you have to work harder to ensure that your applications are secure, scalable, and manageable.

For example, you wouldn't want to show the world the dreadful-looking old user interface that responded only to keystroke combinations, even though it might have been perfectly serviceable back when only your in-house employees could see them.

Fortunately, thanks largely to the global acceptance of the new Internet medium, vendors such as IBM, BEA Systems, and Bluestone Software have responded to the demand. Today users have access to all the tools they need via an indispensable piece of middleware: the application server.

IBM's latest upgrade to the WebSphere Application Server, now in version 3.5, is an excellent example of what the modern application server can do. It's specifically designed to let you easily integrate your existing business systems and processes with the Web, regardless of your IT staff's technical prowess. But it also provides the added benefit of differentiation via personalization and increased usefulness.

Moreover, because the solution is based on open, industry-approved standards such as Java and XML, users will find it easy to work with and integrate into. It also makes WebSphere an excellent platform for ensuring that your company's Web presence is fast, stable under pressure, and, most importantly, secure. In short, WebSphere is capable of handling everything that today's e-business demands.


For more enterprise computing news, visit InfoWorld. Story copyright InfoWorld Media Group, Inc.

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