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Netscape to soup up app server

DECEMBER 1998

Transaction capabilities will pit the offering against Microsoft, IBM servers

Netscape plans to take competitors Microsoft and IBM head on by adding transactional capabilities to its Netscape Application Server.

In an effort to cover its bases across an increasingly competitive playing field, Netscape is preparing to launch its next-generation Application and Web Servers, with the possibility of a third server offering that would address the middle-tier market.

Application Server 4.0, slated for an early 1999 release and based largely on technology acquired from Kiva, will feature transaction-level capabilities that should bring it to par with IBM's WebSphere offering and Microsoft's Transaction Server, according to Keng Lim, vice president and general manager of application platforms and managed content at Netscape.

In addition to transaction monitoring functionality, Application Server 4.0 will also offer programming language neutrality, multi-tier specialization, enhanced application reliability, and extensions to enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications, according to sources.

Netscape announced earlier this fall at SAP's SAPphire conference in Los Angeles an extension to its Application Server that will link it to the ERP giant's system. (See "SAP extends ERP empire," (www.infoworld.com/printlinks). The company has similar deals planned with PeopleSoft and other ERP vendors.

"Netscape has realized that the entrance of all these players in the app server market means we need to keep raising the bar on performance and scalability of our own app server," said one company representative.

Also expected to ship in early 1999 is Version 4.0 of the Netscape Web Server.

According to the company, it is the focus on managed sites in this Version 4.0 release that will place Netscape's enterprise Web Server ahead of the competition.

"Web Server 4.0 will let Web site producers manage hundreds of pages of Web content and links -- something that IIS [Microsoft's Internet Information Server] can't do," said a Netscape representative.

Additionally, Web Server 4.0 will feature centralized management and security, as well as native Java servlet support.

According to one analyst, native Java servlet support is important for addressing one niche of the competition.

"This release will bring Netscape up to par with IBM and Sun's basic servlet offerings," said Tim Sloane, an analyst at the Aberdeen Group, in Boston.

While Netscape executives hope that the Version 4.0 releases of the Application and Web Servers will be enough to beat back the growing number of competitors in this space, the company is considering the possibility of a third offering.

Called Application Server "Lite" by one Netscape representative, this solution would essentially be the Application Server without the high-end transaction-level monitoring capabilities.

"Whether or not we decide to release an App Server `Lite' depends solely on what our customers want, and we're still evaluating that," the representative said.

One analyst said that introducing solutions that meet the competition at every level is a wise strategy on Netscape's part.

"You can't just come in at the very high or at the very low end; you need to be able to carry customers all the way," said Dave Kelly, vice president of application strategies at the Hurwitz Group, a consultancy in Framingham, Mass.

In other Netscape server news, the company is expected in December to deliver Version 4.0 of its Directory Server.

Directory Server 4.0 will feature high scalability for integration with Web applications, enhanced security technology, and meta-directory capabilities for synchronization with legacy directories and enterprise applications, according to the company.

Netscape Communications Corp., in Mountain View, Calif., is at www.netscape.com.

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