MarketScope for Ajax Technology and RIA Platforms

Gartner RAS Core Research Note G00164266, Ray Valdes, 29 December 2008, R2984 02032010

Despite having appeared as early as 1999, Ajax technologies and rich Internet application platforms are still in a dynamic and early adopter phase of market evolution, with respect to enterprise-level adoption.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

• Ajaxisasmuchknow-howandtechniqueasitisatechnology.Itisawayofbuildingapplicationsthatleveragethecapabilitiesalreadybuiltintoeverymodernbrowser.

• RichInternetapplication(RIA)technologycanbeastand-aloneplatformthatisusuallyintegratedwithexistingapplicationdevelopmentplatforms,oranextensiontoanexistingserver-centricplatform.

• Ajaxispervasiveintheconsumerspaceofpublic,high-endWebsites,butitsadoptioninastrategicmannerbytheenterprisesectorisstilllow,limitedtothemosttechnologicallyaggressiveearlyadopterorganizations.

• Mostenterprisesarenotearlyadopters,andremaininthewait-and-seestage,holdingoffuntiltechnologiesmatureanduntiltheirpreferredlargeITvendor(beitMicrosoft,IBM,Oracle,SAPorSunMicrosystems)deliversatechnologythatis“digestible”(thatis,abletobeabsorbedbythecurrentITstaff,skillsetandtechnologyenvironment).

• SuccessinAjaxandRIAdeploymentsdependsmoreonauser-centereddesign/developmentprocessthanonthechoiceoftechnology.

MARKETSCOPEThis document was revised on 24 February 2008. For more information, see the Corrections page on gartner.com.

Defining the Ajax and RIA MarketTheAjax/RIAsector,broadlyspeaking,isasetoftechnologyofferingsorientedtomeetingtheneedsofapplicationdevelopmentteamstobuildsystemsthatdeliverarichandresponsiveuserexperience.Thefocusofbuyersinthismarketisontechnology,despiteGartner’slong-standingadvicethatsuccessinpresentation-orienteddevelopmentprojectsresultsmorefromauser-centereddesignprocessthanfromaddinganewlayeroftechnology.IntheAjax/RIAsector,thefocusofbuyersisnotjusttechnology,buttechnologythatisdifferentfromtheserver-centricplatformstowhichtheyareaccustomed.Theneed,asperceivedbyprospectivebuyersinthismarket,isoftennotpreciselyarticulated,butisgenerallyforatool,technologyorplatformthatdeliversa“better”userexperience.Inthiscontext,“better”referstoanexperiencethatisvisiblydifferentthanwhat’sproducedbytheexistingplatforms,whichhaveresultedinlegacyapplicationsthatareperceivedtobedrabanddifficulttouse.

2Whatthetypicalorganizationseekstoreplaceisalegacyplatform—eitherclient/server(suchasPowerBuilder,VisualBasicorOracleForms)orWeb(plainHTMLwith“islandsofinteractivity”basedonFlash,JavaorActiveX).Unfortunately,alltoooften,addingnewtechnologytoanorganizationthathasadysfunctionalprocessresultsinadegraded,ratherthanimproved,userexperience.Theeventualresultisoftennotknown,becausehavinganimmatureprocessmeansthatappropriatemetricsarenotcollected.Therefore,theorganizationcannotdeterminewhetherthereisanimprovementintheeffectivenessoftheuserexperience.Thecasecanbemadethatorganizationswouldgetbetterresultsbyfocusingonabetterdesignprocessoronmore-effectiveuseofthepresentationcapabilitiesalreadyincludedinmainstreamserver-sideplatforms,whichhaveevolvedtoincludeAjaxandRIAfeatures.Thatisbeyondthescopeofthisresearch,whichfocusesonanemerging,butcohesive,setofbuyersandsellersthatcomprisestheAjax/RIAmarket.

Asischaracteristicofanyemergingmarkets,thereareoftendiversegroupsofplayersandapproaches,andplentyof“applesvs.oranges”comparisonspossiblebecauseofalackofconsensusonfeaturesandapproaches.TheargumenthasbeenmadebysomevendorswithproductsinthisspacethatthenotionofacohesiveAjax/RIAmarketisanillusion,andthatthisisnotamarketanymorethanthereisanHTMLmarketoranXMLmarket.Thepropositionisthatallofthese(HTML,XML,AjaxandRIAtechnologies)areenablingtechnologiesforoneormoredistinctmarkets.

Althoughthisperspectivehasacertainvalidity,GartnerhaschosentodoaMarketScopeinthisarea,becausethissituationmeetstwokeyaspectsofamarket:

• Acommunityofbuyersthatiswillingandabletobuy,andthatmayreferenceeachother(or,alternatively,third-partyadvisors)inmakingabuyingdecision

• Acommunityofsellersthatcompeteswitheachotherforbuyers’attentionandcommitment

Themarketisatthestagewherethereisahighdegreeoffragmentationanddiversity.Notallsellerscompetewitheachother,andnotallbuyershaveidenticalneeds.Nevertheless,Gartnerhasreceivedenoughinquiriesforguidanceinproduct/technologyselection,andhasseenenoughcompetitiveface-offs(suchasAdobeFlexvs.MicrosoftSilverlight,orBackbasevs.NexawebTechnologies,orIBMLotusExpeditorvs.JavaFX,orAdobeAIRvs.MicrosoftWindowsPresentationFoundation[WPF]and.NET),thatthebroadoutlinesofthemarketarevisible.Withinthismarketaresegments,suchasthefissurebetweenenterpriseRIAandconsumer-orientedAjax.Butthisfragmentationisnodifferentthaninotherearlystagemarkets(forexample,theportalmarket,where,initially,vendorswerestronginexternal-facingorinternal-facingdeployments,butnotboth).Althoughtherearefissuresinthemarketlandscape,thereareenoughcross-categorycompetitiveface-offs(suchasaRIAplatformvs.anAjaxtechnology)thatthemarketcanbeconsideredascohesiveasanyotherearlystagemarket.

Asthemarketmaturesandconsolidates,asmallnumberoflargevendorswillgrowevenlargerbyencompassingbroad-basedapproaches,acquiringsmallervendorsand/ortakingmarketshareawayfromsecond-tierchoices.Asthathappens,thefaultlinesthatfragmenttheAjax/RIAsectorwillfade.

Market/Market Segment DescriptionTheAjax/RIAsectorcanbesegmentedintwoways:intermsofbuyersandintermsofsellers.

Lookingatthemarketintermsofbuyers,thefollowingcategoriesemerge:

• Enterprise legacy platform replacement:Enterprisesseekingapresentation-centricdevelopmentplatformandtoolsetthatwillreplaceagingorobsoletelegacyapplicationsbuiltwithearliergenerationsoftools,suchasOracleForms,PowerBuilderandVisualBasic.Theneedsofthisclassofbuyercenterondeveloperproductivity,platformcompatibility,skillscompatibility,vendorsupportandvendorlongevity.

• Public-facing enterprise sites:ThesesitesrepresenttheexternalWebpresenceforGlobal1000organizations.Theneedforthisclassofbuyerisforbroadreachtoamassaudience.Thisisbestachievedthroughbrowser-independentimplementations,server-neutralclient-sidetechnologies,asmallclientfootprint,easyupdateandsoon.Beyondthesecorerequirements,therearealsotheenterpriserequirementslistedabove,

• Stand-alone, consumer-oriented Web sites: Thetop100Websitesandsmallerstand-aloneWebpropertiesthataspiretobethenextFacebookorGoogle.Buyersinthisclasshavestrongtechnicalstaff,andmanyhavebuilttheirownAjaxframeworksandRIAtools.Theirneedsareforbroadreachandbrowserindependence,similartohigh-endenterprisesites.Akeydifferenceistheneedforcompatibilitywithserver-sideframeworks—oftenneither.NETnorJava,butinsteadLAMP-basedPHP,PythonorRuby(noneofwhichareprevalentinenterprise-scaledeployments).

• Independent software vendor (ISV) differentiators:ISVshavefollowedthetechnologyshiftinthe1990sfromclient/servertotheWeb,andarenowseekingtodifferentiatetheirofferingsfromsimilarWeb-basedcompetitors.Comparedwiththeaverageenterprise,thebuyersintheISVclasshavestrongin-houseengineeringstaffandmatureuser-experiencedesignteamsandprocesses.ThesebuyerscanmoreeasilyabsorbandexploitAjaxandRIAtechnologyofferings,whetheropen-sourceAjaxorbroad-scopeRIAplatforms.

Tomeettheneedsofthesedifferentmarketsegmentsorclassesofbuyers,thereisadiversecollectionofsellers:technologyvendors,quasivendorsandopen-sourcetoolkits(notaffiliatedwithaconventionalvendor).Theofferingsareasfollows:

• Community-oriented, open-source Ajax toolkits: Thesenoncommercial,freeandopen-sourcetoolkitsincludeDojo,Prototype/ScriptaculousandjQuery.Theyhaveseenwide

©2008Gartner,Inc.and/oritsAffiliates.AllRightsReserved.Reproductionanddistributionofthispublicationinanyformwithoutpriorwrittenpermissionisforbidden.Theinformationcontainedhereinhasbeenobtainedfromsourcesbelievedtobereliable.Gartnerdisclaimsallwarrantiesastotheaccuracy,completenessoradequacyofsuchinformation.AlthoughGartner’sresearchmaydiscusslegalissuesrelatedtotheinformationtechnologybusiness,Gartnerdoesnotprovidelegaladviceorservicesanditsresearchshouldnotbeconstruedorusedassuch.Gartnershallhavenoliabilityforerrors,omissionsorinadequaciesintheinformationcontainedhereinorforinterpretationsthereof.Theopinionsexpressedhereinaresubjecttochangewithoutnotice.

3adoption,primarilyoutsidetheenterprise(withasignificantminorityofthetop100Websitesnowusingoneormoreofthese,oftenasasupplementtocustom-builtAjax).

• Vendor-centered, open-source Ajax and RIA technologies: Open-sourcetoolkitsaffiliatedwithasmallcommercialvendor(suchasExt,BindowsorLaszloSystems).Thevendorisusuallytargetingtheenterprisesectorbecausethetop100Websitesrelyoncustom-builttechnologiesoropensource.

• Commercial Ajax and RIA product offerings: Thesestartedoutasclosed-sourcepackagestargetedtowardtheenterprisemarket.Theyoftenstillremainthatway,butsomehavesincebecomeopensource,atleastinpart.TibcoGeneralInterface(GI)isaprimeexample;Laszloisoneoftheearliest.Adobeisamorerecententrant,inthatithasopen-sourceditsFlexSDK(butnotitsFlexBuildertool).Microsofthasopen-sourceditsAjaxlibraryandSilverlightToolkit.

• Broad-scope RIA platform plays: OfferingsfromAdobe,Microsoft,IBM,Sun,andtoalesserextent,Nexaweb,SoftwareAGandTibcoSoftware.Theseenterprise-orientedvendorsofferindustrial-strengthplatformsandtoolsthatgobeyondbasicAjaxcapability.MarketadoptionofRIAframeworkshasbeenlowduetotheemergingstageofmarketevolution,aswellas,insomecases,totheimmaturityofthetechnology.

• Nonproduct offerings from commercial vendors: Technologypackagesfromcommercialvendorsthatarereleasedasopen-sourceorfreesoftware,notasaproduct(andnoplanstoproductize)—suchasAdobeSpry,YahooUserInterface(YUI),GoogleWebToolkit(GWT),andMicrosoftAjaxLibrary(formerlycodenamed“Atlas”).

• Collections of visual components morphing into frameworks: Thesecomefromagroupofsmall,butlong-lived,vendorsofaftermarketcomponents.Offeringsmaybedeliveredwithsourcecode,butthelicensesarenotopensource.VendorsincludeInfragistics,DevExpress,ComponentArt,DundasDataVisualization,ComponentOne,SoftwareFXandothers.Thesevendorsofferamixofhorizontalinfrastructureenhancements(add-oncomponentsforWPFandJava),stand-aloneframeworks(competingdirectlywithAjaxandRIAframeworks)andverticalmicroproducts(geographicinformationsystem[GIS]andchartingcomponents).

Inclusion and Exclusion CriteriaAMarketScopeisintendedtoaddresstheneedsofGartnercustomersinevaluatingproductofferingsandvendorrelationshipsinanearlytomidstagemarket.Amarket,asstatedearlier,isacommunityofbuyersandsellers.Animplicationoftheterm“community”isthatmanyoftheparticipants(althoughbynomeansalloftheparticipants,orevennecessarilyamajority)areawareofeachother,andoftenusethatknowledgeinformulatingbuy-sidedecisions,aswellassell-sidecompetitivestrategies.Theaspectsofamarket,therefore,includebuyers,sellers,decisions,informationaboutproductsandservices,and,ultimately,transactionsthathaveaneconomicaspect(whereeconomicvalueisusedinthebroadestsenseofanincentive,rewardormediumofexchange).

Marketsthathaveasignificantmixofopen-sourceofferingsfunctionnotjustthroughthemechanismofmonetaryexchange,

butalsothroughtheeconomicsofrecognition,trustandnonmonetaryincentives.

BecauseofthemixofAjaxandRIAproductsandtechnologies,thisMarketScopeincludesmanyofferingsthatarenotcommercialproducts,sotherearealternativeinclusioncriteriathatreflecttherealityofmarketdecisionsthatprospectiveorganizationsarechoosingfromamong:

• RIAplatforms,suchasAdobeFlash/Flex,MicrosoftSilverlightorIBMExpeditor

• FreenonproductofferingsfromcommercialWebgiants,suchasGWT,YUI,MicrosoftAjaxLibraryorAdobeSpry

• Community-based,open-sourcepackages,suchasjQueryorPrototype

• Vendor-centric,opensource,suchasExt

• CommercialproductsfromRIAspecialistvendors,suchasBackbaseorNexaweb

Thecriteriamustbeamixoftraditionalandnontraditionalattributes,whichinclude:

• Revenue: AjaxorRIA-relatedannualrevenueofatleast $5million

• Geographic presence: Officesinmorethanoneregion,suchasNorthAmerica,AsiaorEurope

• Vendor presence:Stabilityandlongevity

• Market acceptance:Inoneormoreofthefollowingsectors:top100Websites,Global1000companies,Web2.0startupventures,ISVsandsystemintegrators

• Ecosystem activity: Asevidencedbymarketplaces,aftermarketofferings,communityforums,books,seminars,andpartnerandchannelactivity(ITservicesfirms,systemintegrators,distributors,Webinteractiveagenciesandadvisoryfirms)

• Gartner client interest:IndicatorsofinterestbyGartnerend-userclientsincludethenumberofinquiriestoanalystsviatheGartnercallcenteroratGartnerconferencesviaone-on-ones

Thesecriteriaallow“applesandoranges”tobeincluded,suchascommercialproductsfromenterprise-orientedvendors,aswellasnonproductofferingsandcommunity-basedopensource.TheMarketScope,therefore,includespackagessuchas:

• Backbase,whichisacompanywithmorethan$10millioninrevenue,marketacceptanceinenterprisedeploymentsandpartners

• jQuery,whichisacommunity-basedopensourceinusebythetop100Websites,andthesubjectoftechnicalbooksavailableinmainstreambookstores

• InfragisticsandMagicSoftware,whichareenterprise-orientedvendorswithmorethan10yearsinthemarket,andaboutwhichGartnerclientshavepostedinquiries

Theinclusioncriteriawereanalyzedinaspreadsheetwithadozenattributes—suchasvendorstrength(RIA-relatedrevenue,vendorlongevityandpartners),marketshare(amongenterprises,ISVs,high-endWebsitesandWeb2.0ventures),andproductattributes(Gartnerclientinterest,productfeaturesandecosystemactivity).

4Pointswereallottedbasedonstrengthintheseattributes,andvendorsorofferingsthatexceededacompositethresholdvaluewereincluded.

Therearenumerousvendorsthatdidnotmeettheinclusionrankingthreshold.AppendixAprovidesacomprehensivelistofvendorsinthisspace.ExamplesofvendorsandofferingsthatarenotincludedinthisMarketScopeanalysisincludeBindows,jMaki,SoftwareFX,Dundas,AJS,Echo2andMooTools.

Rating for Overall Market/Market SegmentOverall Market Rating: PromisingAlthoughthemarkethasbeenaroundsincethefirstcommercialproductswereintroducedin2002and2003,itisstillintherelativelyearlystagesofevolution,especiallywithregardtothemarketsegmentrelatingtoenterpriseRIAplatforms.ThisenterpriseRIAsegmentisakeyaspectofthisMarketScopebecauseitisofprimaryinteresttoGartnerclients,andbecauseithasstrongeconomicimplicationsthatwilldrivetherestofthemarketovertime.

Therefore,itisimportanttounderstandwhatismeantby“enterpriseRIAplatformmarketsegment.”Akeyaspectofdefiningthissegmentistheideaof“significantplatformcommitment”—asopposedtopilotprojectsor“oneofakind”tacticalprojects.Tacticalprojectsaremuchmorenumerousthanthestrategicplatformcommitments.

Themarkethasgonethroughvariousphases,whichGartneridentifiesasfollows:

• 1998 through 2002 (embryonic phase):Demonstrationsoftechnology,suchasDesktop.com,butnocommercialproducts

• 2002 through 2004 (nascent phase):Ahandfulofproductsintroducedbypioneeringvendors,suchasBackbase,GeneralInterface,JackBe,LaszloSystemsandMacromedia

• 2004 through 2008 (the early adopter phase),whichcanbebrokendownfurther:

• 2004through2006—The“YearofAjax”(whichturnsouttobeabout24monthsinlength),inwhichmorethan100open-sourcetoolkitsproliferate

• 2007through2008—The“YearofAdobeFlex”(about18monthsinlength),inwhichFlexgainsdominantshareamongearlyadoptersintheenterpriseRIAsegment

• 2009 through 2012 (the early majority phase):EnterprisesmakestrategiccommitmentstoAjaxandRIAtechnologies,mostlythroughextensionstoserver-sideplatforms,suchas.NET,Java,LAMPandcloud-basedplatforms

GartnerestimatesthatthemajorityofGlobal1000companieshaveexperimentedwithAjaxorRIAtechnologies,frommorethanonevendor.TheseincludetechnologiessuchasAjaxontheonehand,andWPFontheother,andAdobeFlexandMicrosoftSilverlightinthemiddle.Thereareabout150ormorevendorsandtoolkitscoveringthebroadspectrumoftechnologychoices,whichrangefromlightweightAjaxtoextended-browser(Flash,JavaandSilverlight)tooutside-the-browser(AIR,WPF,ExpeditorandJavaFX).However,intermsofmarketadoption,veryfew

organizationshavemadeastrategicplatformcommitment.Notethataplatformcommitmentdoesnothavetobeanenterprisewidemonoculture;itjusthastogobeyondasingleisolatedproject.Mostlargeenterpriseshavemorethanoneplatforminplace(thatis,bothJavaEEand.NET),evenfornonlegacyprojects.Alsonotethatthedepthoftechnologyusecanvarywithinanimplementation,fromasuperficial“coatofAjaxpaint”tobone-deep,rip-and-replacewithRIA.

AMarketScopeisalensintendedtoprovideasclearaviewaspossibleofamarketlandscapetothe“average”Gartnerclient.However,thenatureofthetaskissuchthat,totheextentthatanorganizationdiffersfromthenorm,thelenswillrepresentadistortedview(oralternatively,onecansaythateachorganizationneedsitsownlevelofastigmaticcorrectiontoreflectitspriorities).Morespecifically,anorganizationthatisheavilyalignedwithonevendororanotherwillviewthemarketthroughalensthatisMicrosoft-centric,IBM-centricorOracle-centric,andsoon.Gartnerhasobservedthat,inpractice,largeorganizationstendtohavemultiplevendoralignments,despitenominalallegiancetooneprimaryvendor.

AsecondchallengeinthisprocessisthattheMarketScopelensisfocusedonvendors,notonproducts.Forthecaseofsmallervendors,thevendor-centricviewalignsperfectlywithaperspectivecenteredonproducts.However,largervendorsoffermorethanoneproduct.Microsoftistheextremeexamplehere,withmanysignificantchoicesofproductsandtechnologiesthatrelatetothepresentationaspectsofanapplication:fromWPFtoASP.NETAjaxtoSilverlight,plusahalf-dozenotherchoices.Adobealsohasmultipleofferings,rangingfromopen-sourceSprytoFlextoAIR.Othervendors,suchasOracleandIBM,areinasimilarsituation.TherearealsovendorsthatstartedoutwithAjaxorRIAofferingsbuthavesinceshiftedmarketemphasistosomeotherproductcategory(forexample,JackBeandLaszlo),butstillmarkettheiroriginalproducts.

ThisMarketScopeonlyhassingleentriesforeachvendor.Inthecaseofmultipleproducts,theevaluationaggregatestheproductmix,andgivesproportionatelygreateremphasistothepackagethatisofcoreinteresttoGartnerclientsthatareend-userorganizations.

GartnerclientsthatareaccustomedtoMagicQuadrants(andnotMarketScopes)shouldnotethatMarketScopespresentresultsinacoarse-grained,one-dimensionalranking(Level1throughLevel5,whicharelabeledStrongNegative,Caution,Promising,PositiveandStrongPositive).Thisisdifferentthanthehigh-resolution,two-dimensionalpositioninginaMagicQuadrant.TheMarketScopelabelsmaynotcapturethenuanceofavendor’sranking,includingtheimportantnotionofdirectionalmovement.Toillustrate,twohypotheticalvendorsrankedatthemidpointinthescale(Level3)bothcarrythelabelPromising,butinonecase,thevendorhasdeclinedfromLevel5,andtheotherhasascendedfromLevel1.Also,thecoarse-grainedladderconsistsofonlyfivesteps,whichmightobscurethefactthatavendornearthetopofonelevelmayhavemoreincommonwithvendorsatthenextlevelthanwithlower-rankedvendorsinthesamelevel,duetotruncating,high-resolutionnumericalanalysistofitlow-resolution“buckets.”Therefore,itisimportanttoconsiderallaspectsofavendor’sevaluation:

5• Thewrittendescriptionandanalysisofeachvendor

• Thebulleteditemslistingpositiveandnegativeattributes

• Therankinglevel

Evaluation Criteria

Table 1. Evaluation Criteria

Evaluation Criteria

Product/Service

Offering(Product)Strategy

OverallViability(BusinessUnit,Financial,Strategy,Organization)

SalesExecution/Pricing

MarketResponsivenessandTrackRecord

MarketUnderstanding

Comment

Coregoodsandservicesofferedbythevendorthatcompetein/servethedefinedmarket.Thisincludescurrentproduct/servicecapabilities,quality,featuresetsandskills,whetherofferednativelyorthroughOEMagreements/partnerships.

Thevendor’sapproachtoproductdevelopmentanddeliverythatemphasizesdifferentiation,functionality,methodologyandfeaturesetsastheymaptocurrentandfuturerequirements.

Viabilityincludesanassessmentoftheoverallorganization’sfinancialhealth,thefinancialandpracticalsuccessofthebusinessunit,andthelikelihoodthattheindividualbusinessunitwillcontinueinvestingintheproduct,willcontinueofferingtheproductandwilladvancethestateoftheartwithintheorganization’sportfolioofproducts.

Thevendor’scapabilitiesinallpresalesactivitiesandthestructurethatsupportsthem.Thisincludesdealmanagement,pricingandnegotiation,presalessupportandtheoveralleffectivenessofthesaleschannel.

Abilitytorespond,changedirection,beflexibleandachievecompetitivesuccessasopportunitiesdevelop,competitorsact,customerneedsevolveandmarketdynamicschange.Thiscriterionalsoconsidersthevendor’shistoryofresponsiveness.

Resonancewiththemarketinkeysegments,suchasenterprise,top100Websites,Web2.0venturesandISVs,aswellasecosystemactivityandmarketinterest.

Source:Gartner

Weighting

high

standard

standard

low

standard

high

6Underthecategoryof“marketunderstanding”aresomesubordinatecriteria,whichareoutlinedinTable2.

Evaluation Criteria

MarketAdoption

EcosystemActivity

MarketInterest

TechnologyArchitectureandRoadMap

Comment

Marketpresenceandmarkettractioninkeysegments,suchasenterprisesectors,top100Websites,Web2.0startupventuresandISVs

Developercommunity,resourcesforsupportandtraining,marketplacesforgoodsandservices,bookspublishedbymainstreamtradepress,blogcommentaryandsoon

InquiriespostedtoGartnerbyend-userorganizations,referencesandpositioningbycompetitors

DirectionshouldalignwithGartner’sviewofevolvingmarketrequirements,includingareassuchasdeclarativespecificationoflayoutandbehavior,coderefactoringandmaintenancetools,designer/developerworkflow,integrationwithserver-sideplatforms,interoperabilitywithtoolsandplatforms,andsoon

Source:Gartner

Weighting

High

High

Standard

Standard

Table 2. Additional Evaluation Criteria

Figure 1. MarketScope for Ajax Technology and RIA Platforms

Source:Gartner(December2008)

7Vendor Product/Service Analysis

AdobeAdobehasmultiplepresentation-relatedtechnologies,toolsandplatformsthatGartnerclientsconsiderandevaluate,includingAdobeFlash(whichcanbeusedbyitselfandunderliesAdobe’sFlexplatform),AdobeSpry(lightweightopen-sourceAjaxtoolkit),AdobeFlex(inside-the-browserRIAbuiltonaFlashplatform),AdobeAIR(outside-the-browserRIAthatalsoleveragesFlash),aswellascomplementaryserver-sidetechnologies(suchasLiveCycleDataServices).Adobe’sratinginthisMarketScopeincorporatesallofthesetovaryingdegrees,butlargelycentersonthecoreFlexproductline.

BasedinSanJose,CA,with$3.5billioninrevenueand6,000employees,Adobeisbestknownforitsproducts(AdobePhotoshop,Acrobat,PremiereandIllustrator)thatfocusontheneedsofcreativeandmultimediaprofessionals.AdobeacquiredMacromediain2005,andincorporateditsflagshipproductsandtechnologies(suchasFlash,DreamweaverandFlex)intotheAdobeline.AdobeFlex,releasedinitiallyin2004,representstheevolutionoftheFlashplatformintotheenterpriseandISVsector.Flex3isthethirdgenerationofthisRIAplatform,releasedinFebruary2008,alongwithAdobe’soutside-the-browsertechnologyknownasAIR.AdobehasannouncedthatFlex4(codenamed“Gumbo”),nowinbeta,isscheduledforreleasein2009.

Positives

• Adobe’sFlexproductlineismodern(newtechnology),aswellasmature(ithasatrackrecordofsuccessfuldeploymentsinenterprises,publicsitesandISVproductofferings).

• Adobeisnottoosmall(thatis,it’snotvulnerabletodownturnsinasingleproductline),butnottoolarge(it’sstillagileenoughtomeetdynamicmarketrequirements).

• Thetechnologyisnottooheavy(itstillfitsinsideabrowser,withasmallfootprint),butnottoolight(itismorepowerfulthanAjax).

• Adobehasdominantmarketshareintheemergingcategoryofenterprise-orientedRIAframeworks,aswellasastrongpresenceamongtheISVandtop100Websectors.PartnershipswithISVsincludelargepowerhousevendors,suchasSAP,aswellassmaller,moreverticallyfocusedvendors.

• Adobe’stechnologyislargelyindependentofserver-sideplatforms(thisaspectcanalsobeanegative,dependingonthecontext).

• AdobehasarecognizedbrandnameandagoodreputationintheWebanddesignfields(althoughnotsomuchinenterprise-classsoftware).

Negatives

• AlthoughAdobeisnotasmallvendor,itissmallerincapitalization,resourcesandchannelsthanWebgiants(suchasGoogle)andITgiants(suchasMicrosoft,IBM,OracleandSAP).Itis,therefore,vulnerabletodirectcompetitionandpossibleacquisition.

• Adobetechnologyislargelyserver-independent,whichisanegativeforsomeorganizationsthatwantahomogeneousplatform(thatis,amoretightlyintegratedblendofserverandclient-sidetechnology).ThereissufficientaffinitywiththeJavaplatform,however,whichtempersthisnegativeinthatcontext.

• DespitebroadmarketacceptanceforAdobeflagshipproductsandtechnologies(suchasAdobeReaderandFlash),thecompanylacksasignificantmarketpresencein“bigIT”(thatis,centralizedITinfrastructures).

• AlthoughFlashispervasive,andFlexleveragesstandardssuchasJavaScript(thestandardizedversionknownasECMAScript),enterprisedeveloperswithskillsintheaggregateFlexandFlashplatformarenotnumerous.

Rating: Strong Positive

BackbaseBackbaseisoneofthepioneeringvendorsinthecommercialAjaxsector,foundedin2003.Thecompanyhas,overtheyears,evolvedamatureandpowerfulAjaxframeworkthatincludesalibraryofclient-sidecontrols,avisualdevelopmenttoolandserver-sideintegration.Ontopofthis,Backbaseoffersadd-onproductsforportal-centricsolutions,richWebformsandcollaborativescenarios.Thecompany’smarketingemphasisisonexternal-facingscenarios,suchasself-serviceande-commerceWebsitesthatneedtohaveabroadreachandahighuserexperienceimpact.

Positives

• Backbasehasawell-designed,full-featured,closed-sourceproductrangetargetedfortheenterprisesectorandforpublicsites(onlineself-serviceande-commerce).

• It’sasmall,agilevendorthatunderstandsthemarket.

• Backbasehasachievedacertaintrackrecordandmarketpenetrationintheenterprisesector,aswellasamongpublicsites,comparedwithotherclosed-sourcealternatives.

Negatives

• Backbase’scommercialproductisatadisadvantageincertainscenarioswhencompetingwithfree,open-sourcecommoditypackages,especiallythosewithcommercialsupportavailable.

• It’sasmallvendorwithlimitedresourcesandlimitedbrandrecognition.

Rating: Positive

CurlFoundedin1998inCambridge,MA,CurlwasacquiredbyJapan-basedSumishoComputerSystems.TheCurlRIAplatformwasreleasedin2002,andhasbeenmarketedmostlyinJapan,until2007whentheRIAproductwaslaunchedinNorthAmerica.Thetechnologyapproachwasinitiallybasedonabrowserplug-inforthecompany’sLisp-likeproprietarylanguageandframework(analogoustoAdobeFlash,SunJava,andMicrosoftSilverlightbrowserplug-ins).Earlyin2008,thecompanyannouncedCurlNitro—anoutside-the-browserRIAplatformanalogoustoAdobeAIR,SunJavaFXandMicrosoftWPF.Curlapplicationscanbecompiledtothenativehardware,andcanthencommunicatewithabrowserviaplug-inordirectlytonativewindows.Theclient-sideruntimeiscross-platform(Windows,MacandLinux).Itsupportssecureaccesstoclient-sidedataandWebserviceprotocolsforserver-sidedataaccess,aswellasofflineoperation.CurlapplicationsarewritteninaLisp-likelanguage,enhancedwithHTMLpresentationandobject-orientedstructure.Curloffersa

8stand-aloneintegrateddevelopmentenvironmentandaplug-infortheEclipsedeveloperenvironment.

Positives

• CurlgoesbeyondthelimitationsofAjaxthroughabrowserextensionanddesktop-basedruntime.

• ItleveragesthepowerfulanddynamicLisp-likelanguage.

• Curlisasubsidiaryofamajorvendor.

• It’sdeployedin400enterprises.

Negatives

• CurlhaslittlemarketpenetrationoutsidetheJapanesemarket.

• Thecompany’sproprietarylanguageandenvironmentarebarriersfortheaveragedeveloper.

• Curlhaslimitedvisibility,ascomparedwithlargeplayers,suchasMicrosoft,Adobe,IBM,OracleandSun.

Rating: Promising

DevExpressDevExpresswasfoundedin1998toservetheBorlandDelphiandC++aftermarket.IthassincebecomeakeyplayerinaclusterofaftermarketvendorsthatsellvisualandbusinesscomponentsforMicrosoft-relatedpresentationplatforms,suchasWPF,ASP.NETandWindowsForms.DevExpresscompetesdirectlywithInfragistics(avendorthatisalsocoveredinthisMarketScope),aswellaswithothervendorsinthismarketniche(suchasComponentOne,Dundas,Telerik,Janus,SoftwareFX,Xceed,DataDynamics,SharpLibrary,ComponentArt,DivElements,SpringSourceandSyncFusion).ManyofthesecompaniesplayacomplementaryroletotheirhostplatformsbyfillinginthegapsinthecontrolsetsforSilverlight,WindowsFormsandothers.

DevExpressdifferentiatesitselffromcompetitorsinthatitprovidesXAF,whichisacross-platformapplicationframeworkthatcantargetWindowsFormsandASP.NET(andinthefutureWPF),aswellasCodeRush,anIDEproductivityandcoderefactoringtoolthatimprovesdeveloperefficiencyinsideMicrosoft’sVisualStudio.AlthoughXAFcompeteswithMicrosoft,thebulkoftheproductlineiscomplementary—DevExpressisintheprocessofportingitsentirerangeofbusinesspresentationcontrolstotheSilverlightplatform,includingitsRichTextEditoranduserinterfacelayoutandmanagementcomponent.

Positives

• DevExpresshasasolidlineofcomponents,andaframeworkthatallowsdeveloperstodevelopbrowser-basedandoutside-the-browserapplications.

• ItisasmallvendorthathassurvivedforalongtimeintheshadowofMicrosoft.

• DevExpresshasaloyalcustomerbasethatadoptscomponentproductsonatacticalbasis.

Negatives

• DevExpressisasmallcompanyinacrowdedaftermarketsector,anditsframework-levelproductnowcompetesmoredirectlywithMicrosoft.

• Customersviewthecompany’sproductsastacticalandcomplementary,ratherthanstrategicandself-contained.

Rating: Promising

DojoDojoisapioneerinthecategoryofcommunity-based,open-sourceAjaxtoolkits.Itwascreatedin2004byacollectionofindividualsassociatedwithInformatica,JotSpotandRenkoo.ThetoolkitisavailableunderaBerkeleySoftwareDistribution(BSD)oranAFLlicense,andisthemostinfluentialAjaxpackage,byvirtueofitsearlyentranceintothesector,thecommunitythatrosearoundit,andbythesupportofmajorvendorssuchasIBM.Oracle,BEASystems(whenitwasindependent),SunandLaszloSystems.

TheDojotoolkitnowconsistsofalayeredportfoliooftechnologies,startingwitha26-kilobytecorethatprovidesaneventmodelandobjectmodel,andfacilitiesforanimation,communicationanddebugging.OnthiscoreisDijit,acomponentframeworkandlibraryofusercontrols(menus,treesandcalendars).LastlyisDojoX,anextensibilitymechanismthatsupportsserverpush(Comet),offlinemode(GoogleGears),aunifiedvectordrawingmodelandthird-partyextensions(suchasdojo.EfromNexaweb).TheDojoportfolioincludessupportforaccessibility,internationalizationandsomeperformancemanagementcapabilities.

Dojo’smostdirect“competitors”areotherleadingcommunity-based,open-sourcepackages,suchasPrototype/Scriptaculous,jQueryandYUI.AnimportantdifferentiatorforDojoisitspackagesystemandbuildtools,whichsupportlarge-scaleteams(asinenterprisedevelopmentprojects)buildingvoluminouscodebasesovertime.

Positives

• Dojohasanearlyposition,astronginfluenceandhighvisibilityinthecategoryofopen-sourceAjax.

• Supportfrommajorvendors,includingIBMandOracle,isaplusforDojo,andthecompanyisacorporatewidestandardatIBM,supportedacross30products.

• Dojo’searlyadoptionamongandgoodtrackrecordwithsomemajorsites,suchasAOLMailandMapQuest,aswellasamongsomeWeb2.0ventures,arepositives.

• Dojo’spackagesystemenablescodebasestoscaleinsize.

• DojoFoundationalsosupportsotherprojects,suchasCometd,OpenRecordandDirectWebRemoting(DWR).

Negatives

• AnearlyperceptionamongsomedevelopersthatDojo0.4wasundocumented,complexandslowstilllingers,despiterefactoringandoptimizationinversion1.2.

• Thereisnosinglevendorthatisstrategicallycommittedtothesuccessofthisproject(anattributethatcanalsobeviewedasapositive).However,IBMisastrategicplayerthatcansustainDojoduringtheshorttermandmidterm.

• Thereisaperceptionofslowedmomentumrelativetonewertoolkits(suchasjQueryandMooTools).

Rating: Positive

9ExtExtJSisaJavaScriptlibrarythatbeganasanextensiontoYUItoolkitandwasinitiallynamedYUI-Ext,thensimplyExt,andnowExtJS.TheauthorofExtJS,JackSlocum,ischiefarchitectatthecompany—acommercialventurefoundedin2006aroundthisJavaScriptlibrary.ThepackageisavailableunderacommerciallicenseorundertheGPLv.3license.Thepackagehasseenstronggrowthinadoptionsinceitsreleasein2006,andhasmadeinroadsintheenterprisesector.TheExtJSsitehascloseto60,000registeredmembers(whichhasroughlydoubledduringthepastsixmonths),andthecompanysaysithas6,000customers.ExtrecentlyintroducedExtGWT,aseparateproductthataddsontothecapabilitiesinGWT.

Positives

• Ext’slibraryhasagoodreputationforthequalityofitswidgets,whichwereinitiallyasupplementtoYUI,butarenowself-containedandcanoptionallyinteroperatewithotherAjaxframeworks.

• Extisacommercialvendorwithawarenessofenterpriseneedsandanapplicationlifecyclethatisgainingvisibilityandmarkettractionintheenterprisesector.

Negatives

• Extisasmallvendorcompetingwithcommoditizedopen-sourcetoolkitsthathavethrivingcommunities.

• Thusfar,adoptionismostlycenteredontheenterprisesector(whichcanalsobeviewedasapositive).

• Thecompanyhasbeencriticizedformultiplechangestoitslicense,fromBSDtoGNULesserGeneralPublicLicense(LGPL)tomodifiedLGPLtoGNUGeneralPublicLicense,version3(GPL3),whichsomeobserversthinkistoorestrictiveandresultsinunwanted“viral”effect.However,thereareenterprisesthatwon’tchooseopensourceinanyform,andinsteadpreferacommerciallicense.

Rating: Promising

GoogleGoogleisoneoftheWeb’slargestandbest-knowncompanies,withmorethan20,000employeesand$20billioninannualrevenue.IntheAjax/RIAspace,GoogleoffersGoogleWebToolkit(GWT)—atoolintendedtoleveragetheskillsofserver-sideJavaprogrammerswhodon’tknowJavaScript(averydifferentlanguagethanJava).DeveloperswritecodeinJava,whichgetstranslatedbythesystemtoJavaScriptforclient-sidedeployment.GooglehasbuiltsophisticatedtechnologytoallowdeveloperstodebugandprofileattheJavasourcelevel,withouthavingtodescendtoinspectingmachine-generatedJavaScriptcode.GWTismostlyserver-andIDE-neutral,allowingJavadeveloperstoworkwiththeirfavoriteintegrateddevelopmentenvironment.GWTdoesnotleverageuserinterfacelibraries,suchasSwing,StandardWidgetToolkit(SWT)orJavaServerFaces(JSF).

Positives

• Thisisawell-craftedAjaxtoolkitfortheJava-centricdeveloper.

• ItleveragestheGooglebrandandecosystem,aswellasperceivedvendorstabilityandlongevity.

• TheGoogletoolkithasmaturedinscopeandpowersinceitsreleasein2006.

Negatives

• Thecompany’sJavafocusisneutral(notcompelling)toWeb2.0developers.

• GoogleitselfdoesnotuseGWTformajorproducts(Maps,MailandApps),partlybecausetheypredateGWT,andalsobecausetheyarewritteninnon-Javalanguages.

• TheGooglebrandispositive,butnotcompelling,toenterprisedevelopers.

• GWTsidestepsmajortrendsintheJavaplatform,suchasJSF.

Rating: Promising

IBMIBM,alongwithMicrosoft,isoneofthelargestandmostinfluentialvendorsinthebroadITsector.LikeMicrosoft,IBMhasbeenprojectingamarketingmessageforyearsaroundtheconceptof“richclient”or“smartclient.”LikeMicrosoft,IBMhasarangeofpresentation-relatedtechnologiesandplatforms,althoughthechoices,aspackagedfortheAjax/RIAbuyer,arenotasnumerousasthosefromMicrosoft.IBMwasanearlyforcebehindAjax,DojoandtheOpenAjaxalliance.Likewise,IBMhasadoptedAjaxtechniquesinitsWebSphereportalandWebSphereCommerceServer(usingDojoandOpenLaszlo),andinmanyotherproducts.Thecasecanbemadethatnoothercompanyispromoting,deliveringandexploitingAjaxtechnologyotherthanIBM,whichhasmadeextensiveuseofthistechnologyinmultipleproductlines.However,usingthetechnologywithinaproductisdifferentthanpackagingandsellingthetechnologyinawaythatmeetsAjax/RIAbuyers’expectationsandrequirements.AlthoughIBMisusingDojoinawidespreadandstrategicmanner,intermsofthemarketofAjax/RIAbuyers,theperceptionofastronglinkagebetweenDojoandIBMisnotwidespread,anditappearsthatmostearlyadoptersofDojoasadevelopmenttooluseitdirectly,ratherthanthroughintermediaries.WithregardtoIBMdevelopertools,thesehavebecomeAjax/RIA-enabledaswell,sothatNotesdevelopersandWebSpheredeveloperscanenhancetheuserexperienceofexistingandnewapplications,includingmashups.

IBM’sstrategicRIAplatformisLotusExpeditor,whichisa“fullstack,”outside-the-browserenvironmentbasedontheEclipseRichClientPlatform(RCP),alongwithadditionalcapabilitiesforofflinestorage(scaleddownDB2relationaldatabasemanagementsystem[RDMS]),systemmanagement,provisioningandothers.Allthesecapabilitiesadduptoa200Mbfootprint,whichcanbecompared(albeitinapples-to-orangesfashion)withAjaxtoolkits(includingIBM-backedDojo)thatare20Kbinsize.

LotusExpeditor’smaincompetitorsareoutside-the-browsertechnologiesfromMicrosoft(WPF)andAdobe(AIR).Allthesedesktop-environmentofferingshavebeenburdenedbytheperceptionofcost(hardwareresourceutilization)andcomplexity—althoughAdobeAIRhasgainedmoremarkettractionthantheothers.AllhaveseenslowmarketuptakerelativetothemeteoricgrowthinlightweightAjaxtechnologies,andthemoremodest,butstillstrong,growthinmiddlewareinside-the-browserapproaches,suchasAdobeFlex.

10Positives

• IBMhashistoricallybeenamajorforcebehindAjaxingeneralandDojoinparticular,andmakesextensiveuseofAjaxandRIAinitsproductlines,includingitsserver-centricdeveloperplatforms.Theseleavethecompanywell-positionedifandwhenthemarketevolvestoaperspectivethatvaluescomprehensive,server-centricapproaches(whichGartnerexpectstooccurasmainstreamcohortsadopt).

• ExpeditorisapowerfulRIAframeworkwithcomprehensivesubsystemstosupportenterprise-scaleinitiatives.

• ExpeditorleveragesEclipse(widelyuseddevelopertool)andJava(dominantenterpriselanguageandplatform),andallowsinteroperabilitywithAjax.

• EclipseisusedasthetechnologyfoundationfortherevampedLotusNotesclient,whichcanresultinsynergyandacceleratedmaturityofthetechnology.

• AlthoughExpeditorisalateentrantinthecompetitivearena,IBMhasatrackrecordofprevailingovertimethroughpersistentinvestmentandthroughalignmentwithpartners.

Negatives

• IBM’ssuccessinusingDojoandincorporatingAjaxtechnologyintotoolsisnotthesameassellingRIAplatformstobuyersintheAjax/RIAmarket.

• The“fullstack”approachusedinExpeditormeansalargefootprintandacomplexenvironmentfordevelopers.

• ApplicationsfortheExpeditorplatformmustbedesignedasEclipseplug-ins,whichrepresentsadeparturefromthemethodtowhichapplicationdevelopersareaccustomed.

• AlthoughEclipsehasanextensivetrackrecordasadevelopertool,ithasamuchmorelimitedhistoryasanapplicationdeploymentplatform(whichisthewayitisusedinExpeditor).

• IBM’smarketingmessagehaschanged(alongwiththeExpeditorproductname)multipletimes,resultinginaslowrateofadoption.

Rating: Promising

InfragisticsInfragisticsisacompanyformedin2001throughthemergerofaMicrosoft-focused,aftermarketvendor(SheridanSoftware)withaJava-orientedvendor(ProtoView).ThecompanyhasbecomeakeyplayerinaclusterofaftermarketvendorsthatsellvisualandbusinesscomponentsforMicrosoft-relatedpresentationplatforms,suchasWPF,ASP.NETWindowsFormsandSilverlight.InfragisticscompetesdirectlywithDevExpress(avendorthatisalsocoveredinthisMarketScope),aswellaswithothervendorsinthismarketniche(ComponentOne,Dundas,Telerik,Janus,SoftwareFX,Xceed,DataDynamics,ComponentArt,Divelements,SpringSourceandSyncfusion).Manyofthesecompaniesarecomplementarytotheirhostplatformbyfillinginthegapsthroughvisualcontrols(datagrids),aswellasreport-orientedcomponents.

InfragisticsdifferentiatesitselffromDevExpressinthatitsupportsawiderrangeofplatforms,includingJSF.InfragisticshasbeenslightlybehindDevExpressinproducingacomprehensiveframework,ratherthanalooselyconnectedsetoflarge

components.InMarch2008,InfragisticsintroducedAikido,whichisbuiltonMicrosoftASP.NETAjaxlibraryandprovidesalayerofadditionalcomponents.

Positives

• Infragisticsprovidesasolidlineofcomponents,andarecentlyreleasedacomponentframeworkthatleveragesMicrosoftASP.NETAjaxtechnology.

• It’sasmallvendorthathassurvivedforalongtimeintheshadowofMicrosoft.

• Thecompanyhasaloyalcustomerbasethatadoptscomponentproductsonatacticalbasis.

Negatives

• Infragisticsisasmallcompanyinacrowdedaftermarketsector.

• Customersviewthecompany’sproductsastactical,notstrategic.

Rating: Promising

jQueryOneofthemostprominent,community-based,open-sourceAjaxlibrariesisjQuery,initiallyauthoredbyJohnRessiginJanuary2006,andwithversion1.0releasedinAugustofthatyear.Thepackagehassincegrownrapidlyinvisibilityandinfluence,throughamixofelegantcodingtechniques,well-writtendocumentationand,mostrecently,industrysupportfromheavyweightvendors,suchasMicrosoftandNokia.

Thepackageisabout100kbuncompressed(30kbpacked),availablefromjquery.comundertheMassachusettsInstituteofTechnology(MIT)ortheGPL2license.

Positives

• jQueryhasanelegantarchitecturewithwell-writtendocumentationandasmallfootprint.

• ThecompanyreceivessupportfromMicrosoftandNokia.

• jQueryhasbeenadoptedinhigh-visibilityWebsites,suchasFandango,Twitter,BankofAmerica,Amazon,NetflixandDell.

• Ithastheabilitytocoexistwithothertoolkits,suchasPrototype.

• jQueryisstartingtogaintractionintheenterprisesector.

Negatives

• jQuerycompetesinadynamicspacewithotherevolvingtoolkits(Dojo,MooToolsandPrototype).

• Itisnotasfull-featuredasother(larger)Ajaxlibraries.

Rating: Positive

JackBeJackBe,alongwithBackbase,GeneralInterface(acquiredbyTibco)andLaszloSystems,isoneofthepioneeringvendorsinthecommercialAjaxtoolkitcategory.Asdotheothervendors,JackBeoffersacomprehensiveAjaxframeworkandtoolsetforbuildingrich

11Webapplications.Unliketheothers,JackBehas,inrecentyears,repositioneditselfasavendorofenterprisemashuptechnology.AlthoughitcontinuestomaintaintheAjaxproduct,itsmarketingeffortsaredirectedatthemashupsector.Inthatrespect,JackBehascollaboratedwitherstwhilecompetitorsBackbaseandExtasmashupinterfacepartners.JackBe’smashuptechnologysupportsRIAframeworksbasedonFlex,Flashand.NET.

Positives

• JackBehasawell-designed,full-featured,closed-sourceAjaxlibraryandframeworktargetedtotheenterprisesector

• Itisasmallvendorthathasdemonstratedthatitcanrespondquicklytochangingmarketconditions.

• JackBehasagrowingnetworkofsystemintegrationpartnersandothervendorrelationships.

Negatives

• IntheAjaxcategory,thecompanyhasaclosed-sourceproductcompetingwithcommoditized,open-sourcetechnologies.

• JackBeisasmallvendorwithlimitedresourcesandbrandrecognition.

• Thecompany’sprimaryfocusisnolongerAjaxandRIA,butinsteadmashups.

Rating: Promising

Laszlo SystemsLaszloSystemsisperhapstheearliestcommercialentrantintheAjax/RIAsector,havingbeenfoundedin2000andreleasingitsLaszloPresentationServerproductin2002.AlongwithBackbase,GeneralInterface(acquiredbyTibco),JackBeandNexaweb,LaszlohelpedshapethecontoursoftheAjaxandRIAcategory,startingoutasacommercialclosed-sourcepackage,thenmovingtoopensourcein2004(underthenameOpenLaszlo).Therehavebeen500,000downloadsofOpenLaszlosincethattime.Thecompany’soriginalproductinitiallyranonaFlash-enabledbrowser,butthearchitectureisgeneralenoughthatanapplicationbuiltwithLaszlocanbedeployedtoAjaxandJavaMEruntimeenvironments.ThismultiplatformtargetingispossiblethroughtheuseofdeclarativeXMLasamechanismforspecifyingthelayoutandbehaviorofanapplication.

Thecompany’sproductresemblesAdobeFlexinarchitecture(becauseofitsuseofdeclarativeXML,itsrelianceonaFlash-enabledbrowseranditsserver-sidecompilation).Thecompanyhasachievedsomesuccessintheenterprisesector,withuseatAllstateandSears,andapartnershipwithIBM,incorporatedintoproductssuchasWebSphereapplicationserverandCommerceManagementCenter.Thecompanyalsohassomemarketpresenceintop100consumerWebsites,suchasPandora.com,andthecustomer-facingWebpresenceofWal-MartandVerizon.LaszlohasrecentlyshifteditsmarketfocustoserviceprovidersandbroadeneditsproductlinetoincludeaWebtopenvironmentthatintegratesWeb-basedapplications,suchasmail,instantmessaging,photo-sharingandcontacts.

Positives

• Laszlohasabroad-scopearchitecturedrivenbydeclarativeXML.

• MultiplatformtargetingisoneofLaszlo’sfocuses.

• Itisoneoflongest-livedvendorsinthecategory.

• Thecompany’srecentlyaddedverticalfocusmayprovidestability.

Negatives

• Laszloisasmallcompanywithlimitedresourcescompetingagainstlargeorganizations.

• ItsrecentrepositioningmayaffectAjax/RIAmarketmomentum.

Rating: Positive

Magic Software EnterprisesMagicSoftwareEnterprisesisbasedinIsraelandhasbeeninexistenceformorethantwodecades.Inthe1990s,itsmainproductwasa4GLsystemthatwonawardsforitshighproductivity.Thecompany’sfocusisnowanapplication-platform-as-a-service(APaaS)offeringcalleduniPaaS,withversion1.5releasedinOctober2008.ThisisaWeb-based,multitenantRIAthatusesadeclarativeruleenginetodeploytoarangeoftargets,includingpureHTML,aswellasJava-basedand.NET-basedclients.Theprimaryadoptershavebeensmalltomidsizeenterprises.

Positives

• Thevendorhasbeenalongtimeplayerinapplicationdevelopmentsector.

• Itsupportsmultipleclienttargets,including.NET,JavaandHTML.

• MagicSoftwarealsosupportson-premisesandmultitenanthosteddeployments.

Negatives

• MagicSoftwareisasmallvendorwithlittlepenetrationintheenterprisesector.

• Itisacommercialvendorcompetingwithrapidlyevolvingopensource.

Rating: Promising

MicrosoftMicrosofthasbeenarticulatingamessagetodevelopersabout“smartclient”andrichuserinterfacetechnologyformuchofthepastdecade.Thecompanyhasmanydifferenttechnologyofferingsinthiscategory,includingWPF,WindowsForms,Silverlightversion1andversion2(whichcanbeevaluatedseparately),CompositeUIApplicationBlock,theMicrosoftAjaxlibrary(whichhasaclient-sideaspectaswellasanASP.NET-server-centricaspect),SharePointWebPartsandMicrosoftOfficeasadeveloperplatform.Thislistdoesnotincludelegacypresentationtechnologiesandplatformsthatarestillinproduction,(suchasVisualBasicandWin32GDI).

MicrosoftSilverlightversion2isthemostrecententryfromMicrosoftintheareaofuserinterfaceandpresentation-orientedtechnologiesandplatforms.Silverlightv.2istheMicrosoftofferingthatGartnerclientsaskaboutmostfrequently,anditformsthecoreofthisMarketScopeevaluation.Ithasrapidlygrowing“mind

12share”thatGartnerexpectswilltranslateintostrongmarketshareovertime.AlthoughcustomerinterestiscenteredonSilverlight,itisworthnotingthatmanyMicrosoft-centricorganizationsalreadyhaveacapableplatformforenterpriseWebapplicationsintheformofASP.NET,whichofferstheMicrosoftAtlaslibraryasawayofdeliveringanenhanceduserexperience.FormanyorganizationsconsideringSilverlightforstraightforwardenterpriseapplications,buildingonASP.NETmightbeamorepragmaticandcost-effectivechoice.Ofcourse,thesearenotmutuallyexclusive,andhybridscenariosmayrepresenttheoptimumwaytobalancepriorities.

AlthoughSilverlightv.1andv.2sharetheproductname,theyaredifferenttechnologies.Silverlightv.1wasreleasedinmid-2007,andisessentiallyamedia-playercomponentthatisscriptablewithJavaScript.Itistargetedatconsumer-facingWebsitesandachievedlittlemarketpenetration.Silverlightv.2wasreleasedinSeptember2008,andisasignificantstepforwardintechnologyandtooling.Itpackagesthepowerfulfeaturesof.NET-basedWPFintoalighter-weight,cross-platformoffering.Itcanbeusedforexternal-facingWebsitesorinternal-facingapplications.Gartnerexpectsstrongmarketgrowth,primarilyamongenterprisesthatarecommittedto.NET.SomenotablesitesusingSilverlightareBlockbuster,Toyota,YahooJapan,AOL,BBC,HardRockandNetflix(whichisnowusingSilverlighttodeliverstreamedmovierentals).

Positives

• Microsoftbrings.NETtechnologytothebrowser,leveragingtheskillsofanestimated4million.NETdevelopers.

• SilverlightissupportedbythebroadecosystemofMicrosoftserviceproviders,systemintegratorsandISVs,includingsomecompanieslistedinthisMarketScope(suchasDevExpressandInfragistics).

• Silverlightsupportsmultipleprogramminglanguages,includingdynamiclanguages

• Microsoftisasystematicanddiligentcompetitor,andtheupcomingSilverlightv.3willlikelycontinuethetrajectorybegunwithv.1andv.2.

Negatives

• Linkagetothe.NETplatformandtoolsisperceivedasanegativebysomenon-Microsoft-centricorganizations,althoughSilverlighthascross-platformattributesonthedevelopmentsideandthedeliveryside.

• Silverlightv.2hasonlyrecentlybeenreleased,althoughitsuseby40millionviewersduringtheNBCbroadcastofthesummerOlympicsinAugust2008canbeviewedasaproductionrelease.

Rating: Positive

Nexaweb TechnologiesNexaweb,alongwithvendorssuchasBackbase,GeneralInterface(acquiredbyTibco),JackBeandLaszloSystems,formsthecontingentofpioneeringcommercialvendorsintheAjaxandRIAsector.Nexawebwasfoundedin2000,andshippeditsfirstproductin2001.AlthoughBackbase,JackBeandGeneralInterfaceapproachedthespacefromtheAjaxdirection,andLaszlofromaFlash-basedbrowser,NexawebtookaJava-basedapproach.

Likesomeoftheothers,NexawebreliesonadeclarativeXMLrepresentationoflayoutandbehavior.ThisapproachenablestheNexawebsystemtoevolvetoitsUniversalClientFramework,whichcantargetAjax,Javaordesktopenvironments.Nexaweb’sdeclarativelanguageiscalledextensibleAjaxplatform(XAP),whichwasanopen-sourceprojectattheApacheFoundation’sincubator,andwasadaptedtosupporttheDojoToolkitfromtheDojofoundationinearly2008intheformofdojo.E.Nexaweb’srecentmarketfocushasshiftedtoemphasizemodernizationoflegacyenterpriseapplications(writteninPowerBuilder,VisualBasicandOracleForms).

Positives

• NexawebisapioneeringparticipantintheAjax/RIAsector.

• IthasageneralarchitectureusingdeclarativeXML,whichallowsmultiplatformtargeting.

• Thecompanyhasachievedsomepenetrationintotheenterprisesector,inpartduetotheproduct’semphasisonJava.

Negatives

• Nexawebisasmallcompanywithlimitedresourcescompetingagainstlargeorganizationsandopen-sourcealternatives.

• Itsrecentfocusonlegacymodernizationmaychangeproductpriorities.

Rating: Positive

OracleOracleisoneofthefourlargeITpowerhousevendors,alongwithIBM,SAPandMicrosoft.OracleisnostrangertoAjaxtechniques,havingusedpartialpagerendering(PPR)asfarbackas2003.However,OraclehasnotmarketeditsAjax/RIAtechnologyuntilrecently.RecentinitiativesincludeashowcaseforwhatOraclehastermedRichEnterpriseApplications(REA)athttp://rea.oracle.com.TherearealsodevelopercampaignstiedtotheOracleFusionmiddleware.

Oracle’srichclientstrategyrevolvesarounditsimplementationofJSF,calledOracleADFFaces.JSFstartedoutasaserver-sideuserinterfaceframeworkthatcanoptionallyuseclient-siderenderingforanenhanced,more-responsiveuserexperience.InadditiontoOracleADFFaces,Oraclehasanothermajortechnologyinitiativewithapresentation-relatedaspect:itsWebCenterportalplatform.

Oraclehasdonated150Ajax-enabledJSFcomponentstotheopen-sourceApacheMyFacesproject—atechnologythatisalsousedinOracleE-BusinessSuite.

Positives

• Oracleisalarge,establishedvendorwithsignificantresources,productportfoliosandecosystems.

• It’sbuildingontheindustrystandardJSF.

• Oracleiscultivatinganopen-sourcecommunityaroundOracleADFFaces.

13Negatives

• Thevaluepropositionfornon-Oraclecustomersisnotcompelling,thusfar.(Although,asthemarketevolvesinaserver-centricdirection,thesituationwillimprove.)

• Oracle’sfocusremainsmostlyserver-centric.

Rating: Promising

PrototypePrototypeisafoundation-levelAjaxtechnologythatisoftenusedinconjunctionwiththeScriptaculoususerinterfacelibrary.Bothareopensource,pureJavaScriptandhavedistinctidentities,butoverlappingcommunities.Version1.6.0.3ofPrototypeisthecurrentversion,firstavailableinSeptember2008.ItisopensourceundertheMITlicenseandisavailableasasinglesourcefile(about4,200linesofJavaScriptcode,whichweighsinat128kbuncompressed)athttp://prototypejs.org/assets/2008/1/25/prototype-1.6.0.2.js.

ScriptaculousbuildsonthecorePrototypeframeworkbyaddingananimationengine,drag-and-dropeffects,sliders,fades,autocompletionandsoon.ThepackagehasPrototypeembeddedinside,andisavailableasa194KbytecompressedJavaScriptcollectionfromhttp://script.aculo.us/downloads.

Major“competitors”areopen-sourcepackages,suchasDojo,jQueryandYUI.OnedifferentiatoristhatPrototypeisgearedtothe“writeyourownwidgets”developer,whoislookingforasolidbutlightweighttechnologyfoundationuponwhichtobuildcustomcomponents.High-profile,public-facingWebsitesthatwanttohaveadistinctlookandfeelhavechosenthePrototype/Scriptaculouscombination(sitessuchasApple,CNN,IkeaandGucci).

Positives

• PrototypewasoneoftheearlytoolkitstopackageAjaxknow-howintoanopen-sourceoffering.

• Ithasstrongadoptionamonghigh-trafficsites.

• Itsmultilayermodularstructuremakesadoptionpossibleinstages.

• Thecompanyhasanemergingecosystemoftrainingandsupportresources(booksandcommunities).

Negatives

• Nosinglevendorhasbecomestrategicallycommittedtothesuccessofthisproject.

• Prototypeisnotasfull-featuredasotherlargertoolkits.

Rating: Positive

Sun MicrosystemsAswithanylargeplatformvendor,SunMicrosystemshasarangeofpresentation-orientedtechnologiesandplatforms,goingbacktothemid-1990sandthedaysofvenerableJavaapplets.Earlysuccessinclient-sideuserinterfacetechnologywasslowedduetoinconsistentimplementationsanddiscontinuoustransitionswithuserinterfacelibraries(fromAWTtoSwing).Forthepastdecade,

Sun’sJavahasfoundsuccessinstrategic,server-side,enterprise-scaleplatforms(suchasJavaEE),butithasnotbeenavisibleparticipantintheclient-sidecompetitivearena,cedingthegroundtoAjaxtoolkitsandFlash-basedRIAapproaches.

SunrecentlyintroducedJavaFXversion1,whichrepresentsthecompany’sattempttocatch-upinrich-clienttechnologies.JavaFXisalayerontopofthestandardJavaruntime.Itaddsmultimediacapabilities,adeclarativescriptinglanguage,andaruntimeenvironmentthatsupportsinside-the-browser,outside-the-browserandmobiledeployments.

Positives

• Sun’sJavatechnologyhasbeenamainstayoftheWebformorethanadecade.

• ThecompanyhasabroadecosystembuiltaroundJava,includingplatformvendors(BIM),ISVs(Oracle),andmanysystemintegratorsandglobalITservicesfirms.

Negatives

• SunhadalateentryintomarketterritoryinhabitedbyAdobe,Microsoftandothers.

• Corepartsofthevalueproposition(mobile,designer/developerintegrationtools)won’tbereleaseduntil2009.

Rating: Promising

Tibco SoftwareTheGItoolkitfromTibcohasbeenoneoftheearliest-developedAjaxtoolkits,datingbackto2002,fromasmallstartupvendorofthesamenamethatwasacquiredbyTibcoin2004.Tibcoisthewell-knownenterprisemiddlewarevendorthatalsomarketsaportal.WithGI,ithasmadeaforayintouser-facingtechnology.Thepackageinitiallywasaclosed-source,enterprise-orientedproductthatonlysupportedtheInternetExplorerbrowser.Morerecently,ithasbecomeopensourceandcross-browser,supportingFirefox3andSafari3.ThecurrentversionofGIisv.3.6.1,andthe10.1Mbdownloadisavailableatwww.tibco.com/devnet/gi/.

InFebruary2008,thecompanysawthedepartureofkeyGIstaffmember,KevinHakman,togotoAptana,avendorofserver-sideJavaScriptandclient-sideAjax.ThenumberofinquiriesreceivedbyGartneraboutTibcoGIhasdeclinedduringthepastyear.

Positives

• Tibcohasawell-designed,full-featuredproducttargetedfortheenterprisesector.

• Thecompanyhasagoodtrackrecordandmarketpresenceintheenterprisesectorforitsmiddlewareproductline.

Negatives

• Thevendor’smiddleware-centricmessageaboutuserexperiencehasnotresonatedwithitstargetmarket.

• Apresentation-orientedproductisnotvisibleamongabroadermixofthecompany’sproductsandpriorities.

Rating: Promising

14YahooYahooisamajorplayerintheconsumerWebsector,andoperatessuchpropertiesastheMyYahooportal,Flickrphoto-sharing,YahooMailandYahooStoree-commercestorefront.TheYUItoolkitisafreeandopen-sourceAjaxtoolkitwritteninpureJavaScript.Thepackagecontainsnotjustaframeworkandwidgets,butalsoutilities(logger,compressor),cascadingstylesheet(CSS)toolsanddesignpatterns.ThecurrentversionofYUIis2.60,anditisavailableundertheBSDlicenseasa10.5MBzipfile,whichincludessubstantialdocumentation,250workingexamplesandtutorials.ThecoreportionoftheYUIlibraryis31KbminifiedJavaScript(and,incompressedformat,about11Kb).Thecoreloadstherestofthelibraryondemand.YUIhasafullcomplementofwidgets,andmanyofthesesupporttheARIAplug-intoenableaccessibility.YUIleveragesCSSheavily,totheextentthatsomeWebdesignersfindvalueinusingtheCSSportionofYUI(suchasCSSGrid)independentlyfromtheAjaxpart.TheYUICompressor,YUITestframeworkandYUIDoctoolssupportmore-robustdevelopmentprocesses.

Positives

• Yahoohasafull-featuredAjaxtoolkitforWeb2.0developers.

• ItleveragestheYahoobrandandecosystem,includingtheYahoodesignpatternlibrary.

• Thecompanywillhavemultiplereleasesovertime,andproductionuseonMyYahooandtheYahoostartpagehasbeenineffectsincemid-2005.

• Yahoohasgoodadoptionamongthetop100Websites,andwasoneofthetopthreeAjaxlibrariesinthebroad-scopesitesurveyconductedbyOperainDecember2008(1millionWebsitessurveyedviacrawler).

Negatives

• TheYahoobrandhaslostsomelusterinrecentmonths,andthecompanyhasseensomestaffdeparturesandlayoffs,resultinginperceptionsofanuncertainfuture.

Rating: Positive

Vendors Added or DroppedWereviewandadjustourinclusioncriteriaforMagicQuadrantsandMarketScopesasmarketschange.Asaresultoftheseadjustments,themixofvendorsinanyMagicQuadrantorMarketScopemaychangeovertime.AvendorappearinginaMagicQuadrantorMarketScopeoneyearandnotthenextdoesnotnecessarilyindicatethatwehavechangedouropinionofthatvendor.Thismaybeareflectionofachangeinthemarketand,therefore,changedevaluationcriteria,orachangeoffocusbyavendor.

Gartner MarketScope DefinedGartner’sMarketScopeprovidesspecificguidanceforuserswhoaredeploying,orhavedeployed,productsorservices.AGartnerMarketScoperatingdoesnotimplythatthevendormeetsall,fewornoneoftheevaluationcriteria.TheGartnerMarketScopeevaluationisbasedonaweightedevaluationofavendor’sproductsincomparisonwiththeevaluationcriteria.ConsiderGartner’scriteriaastheyapplytoyourspecificrequirements.ContactGartnertodiscusshowthisevaluationmayaffectyourspecificneeds.

Inthebelowtable,thevariousratingsaredefined:

MarketScope Rating Framework

Strong PositiveIsviewedasaproviderofstrategicproducts,servicesorsolutions:

• Customers:Continuewithplannedinvestments.

• Potential customers: Considerthisvendorastrongchoiceforstrategicinvestments.

PositiveDemonstratesstrengthinspecificareas,butexecutioninoneormoreareasmaystillbedevelopingorinconsistentwithotherareasofperformance:

• Customers:Continueplannedinvestments.

• Potential customers:Considerthisvendoraviablechoiceforstrategicortacticalinvestments,whileplanningforknownlimitations.

PromisingShowspotentialinspecificareas;however,executionisinconsistent:

• Customers: Considertheshort-andlong-termimpactofpossiblechangesinstatus.

• Potential customers: Planforandbeawareofissuesandopportunitiesrelatedtotheevolutionandmaturityofthisvendor.

CautionFaceschallengesinoneormoreareas.

• Customers:Understandchallengesinrelevantareas,anddevelopcontingencyplansbasedonrisktoleranceandpossiblebusinessimpact.

• Potential customers:Accountforthevendor’schallengesaspartofduediligence.

Strong NegativeHasdifficultyrespondingtoproblemsinmultipleareas.

• Customers:Executeriskmitigationplansandcontingencyoptions.

• Potential customers: Considerthisvendoronlyfortacticalinvestmentwithshort-term,rapidpayback.

15

• jQuery—http://jquery.com/

• JPSpan—http://sourceforge.net/projects/jpspan

• LaszloSystems—http://www.openlaszlo.org/

• MicrosoftAtlasAjax—http://ajax.asp.net

• MicrosoftSilverlight—http://www.microsoft.com/silverlight

• Midori—http://www.midorijs.com/

• MochiKit—http://www.mochikit.com/

• Moo.fx—http://moofx.mad4milk.net/

• MooTools—http://mootools.net

• Nexaweb—http://www.nexaweb.com

• OpenLinkAjax—http://oat.openlinksw.com/

• Nitobi—http://www.nitobi.com/

• Prototype—http://www.prototypejs.org/

• Qooxdoo—http://qooxdoo.org/

• Rialto—http://rialto.improve-technologies.com/wiki/rialto

• Rico—http://www.openrico.org/

• Sajax—http://www.modernmethod.com/sajax/

• Scriptaculous—http://script.aculo.us/

• SmartClient—http://www.smartclient.com/

• SoftwareFX—http://softwarefx.com/

• SproutCore—http://www.sproutcore.com/

• Spry—http://labs.adobe.com/wiki/index.php/Spry

• SunJavaFX—http://www.sun.com/javafx

• Telerik—http://www.telerik.com/

• TibcoGI—http://www.tibco.com/devnet/gi/default.jsp

• Tibet—http://www.technicalpursuit.com/ajax_indepth.htm

• TurboGears—http://www.turbogears.org/

• VisualWebGUI—http://www.visualwebgui.com/

• WebORB—http://www.themidnightcoders.com/weborb/

• WebWork—http://www.opensymphony.com/webwork/

• Xajax—http://www.xajaxproject.org/

• YUI—http://developer.yahoo.com/yui/

• ZimbraKabuki—http://www.zimbra.com/community/kabuki_ajax_toolkit_download.html

• ActiveWidgets—http://www.activewidgets.com/

• AdobeSpry—http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/spry/

• AdobeFlex—http://www.adobe.com/products/flex

• Aflax—http://www.aflax.org/

• AjaxTags—http://ajaxtags.sourceforge.net/

• Ajax.NET—http://www.ajaxpro.info/

• AjaxAC—http://ajax.zervaas.com.au/

• Ajile—http://ajile.iskitz.com/

• AJForm—http://projects.aphexcreations.net/ajform/

• AJS—http://orangoo.com/labs/AJS/

• Aspects—http://ajaxaspects.blogspot.com/

• Backbase—http://www.backbase.com/

• Bindows—http://www.bindows.net

• Cappuccino—http://cappuccino.org/

• ComponentOne—http://www.componentone.com/

• CanooULC—http://www.canoo.com

• CleanAjax—http://clean-ajax.sourceforge.net/

• CNETCiUI—http://www.clientcide.com/cnet-js-standards/ciui-cnet-iphone-ui/

• Curl—http://curl.com/

• DevExpress—http://devexpress.com/

• Dojo—http://dojotoolkit.org/

• DundasDataVisualization—http://dundas.com/

• DWR—http://getahead.org/dwr

• Echo2—http://www.nextapp.com/platform/echo2/echo/

• ExtJS—http://extjs.com/

• FacebookAnimationJavaScriptlibrary—http://developer.facebook.com/animation/

• GWT—http://code.google.com/webtoolkit/

• HTML_AJAX—http://pear.php.net/package/HTML_AJAX/

• IBMLotusExpeditor—http://www.ibm.com/software/lotus/products/expeditor/

• IcesoftTechnologiesIcefaces—http://icesoft.com/

• Infragistics—http://www.infragistics.com/

• JackBe—http://www.jackbe.com

• JavaBluePrints—https://blueprints.dev.java.net/

Note 1Full List of Ajax and RIA Packages