A Vision for the Future

What is next for WebSphere? Where does the platform go from here? WebSphere Application Server, version 5.0 is one of the strongest and richest modern application server available today. Today is the keyword, as there is constantly a change in technology.

In the months following the general availability of WebSphere Application Server version 5.0, we can expect mostly the usual and maybe a bit of the unusual. There will be service releases and an appropriate introduction of the rest of IBM's WebSphere branded products that leverage and run on WebSphere Application Server version 5.0. With these additional IBM products in place, partners will then complement these offerings with additional run time and tooling-based offerings. Customers will enjoy a complete platform offering and proceed to deploy large-scale production applications.

In addition to service releases, it is likely that incremental functional capabilities will rollout and the J2EE 1.3 base will be enriched with more capabilities. The openness and flexibility of the WebSphere Application Server in version 5.0 suggests that it will be a production platform, used widely and over a long period by many large customers.

Meanwhile, it is also expected that there will be tactical activity in the standard areas. J2EE 1.4 is already something being defined and WebSphere architects are working on the steps necessary to provide support for this next standard. The version 5.0 architecture has already planned for and has even implemented some of the future J2EE standards. JMX support, for example, is already built into the administration model of WebSphere version 5.0. Another example is in the area of web services. JSR-109 will add web services directly into J2EE. WebSphere Application Server will have early support for this in version 5.0 and will formalize this support as the standards become final. The intention will be to deliver production-ready products supporting these features and others, in a fashion similar to that which was used for the version 4.0 and 5.0 deliveries.

Strategically, the WebSphere Application Server will continue to evolve with the industry, to lead the way as the platform for building that next application which delivers business value. Some of the version 5.0 features and functions clearly represent an initial offering of function in a specific area. This is especially evident in the programming model extensions. Many of these could be enhanced and upgraded as initial usage yields additional requirements and new application types are invented which require additional middleware support.

Internal to IBM, the role of WebSphere Application Server will also grow. The evolving portfolio of WebSphere branded products will come to depend on the application server for a growing number of services and capabilities. These could be called base or basic services, but in actuality, they represent capabilities that are functionally beyond what is evident today in WebSphere Application Server version 5.0. Internal to IBM, the strategy is to continue to achieve engineering efficiencies in middleware product development, by focusing efforts on building high-level business value that extends and leverages the functionality of the underlying application server.