Burton Group - Application Platform Strategies

SOA Report Card

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 01:00:00 GMT

Everyone seems to be doing SOA, but how many organizations are doing it well? Is anyone making a passing grade? Burton Group has been conducting intensive research into real-world SOA initiatives. The research is focused on SOA planning and execution. It compares and contrasts top-down and bottom-up approaches. It explores organizational and cultural impediments. It examines governance strategies. It also looks at business models and metrics. We’ll present our findings from this research in this telebriefing. Learn what works and what doesn’t:

Where do you start?
How do you identify, model, and describe services?
Is an ESB a prerequisite? What about WS-* versus REST?
When do you really need to establish governance?
How much governance is required?
What changes are required to the organization, funding models, development practices, etc?
How do you measure success?

Spring: A Container-Agnostic Java Platform

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 01:00:00 GMT

The open source Spring Framework (Spring) was originally intended to improve enterprise Java development by providing a simplified programming model and high-level abstractions around the Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE). In the five years since its introduction, Spring has grown into a full end-to-end platform poised to seriously disrupt Java EE. In this Application Platform Strategies overview, Senior Analyst Joe Niski describes the Spring ecosystem and SpringSource, the company behind it all, and examines whether Spring’s growth is beginning to threaten its initial mission of simplifying enterprise Java.

LINQ and ADO.NET: Brilliant and Confusing

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 01:00:00 GMT

.NET 3.5 contained a brilliantly conceived but potentially disruptive data access tool called Language Integrated Query (LINQ). It adds normalized queries of different data into object-oriented (OO) languages. Microsoft will release ADO.NET Entity Framework (EF) and Data Services during 2008. These tools normalize different data using complicated data models. IT organizations should evaluate LINQ for increased development productivity but avoid EF. ADO.NET Data Services is interesting but unproven. In this Application Platform Strategies report, Senior Analyst Joe Bugajski explains how LINQ works, and how the new ADO.NET tools should work.

Ruby on Rails Revisited

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 01:00:00 GMT

The Ruby on Rails (aka Rails) web application framework is increasingly popular with web developers. Enterprises are interested in Rails, but remain wary. Rails 2.0, released in December 2007, includes productivity enhancements and improved support for architecture based on Representational State Transfer (REST). These features, a maturing ecosystem of tools, and support for Ruby and Rails in Java and .NET should encourage enterprises to give Rails a closer look. In this updated Application Platform Strategies report, Senior Analyst Joe Niski explains new features, describes supporting tools, and examines the benefits and limitations of Rails.

In Search Of SOA Success (SOSS)….

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 14:00:00 GMT

How do you measure SOA success? Why is SOA a risky proposition? Which steps should you take to gain and maintain business support, funding, and SOA initiative momentum? Over the last five years, Burton Group clients have relied on Application Platform Strategies (APS) service team members and research to understand SOA roadmap dynamics and success factors. Taking a step back from the Burton Group Point of View, Research Director Anne Thomas Manes and Service Director Chris Haddad conducted an in-depth investigation into the status of SOA initiatives. Our investigation yielded new insights, timely reaffirmations, and straightforward guidance on how to better shape Burton Group’s research and client interactions. In this APS telebriefing, Service Director Chris Haddad will explain our contextual research methodology, SOA project questions answered, research project revelations on how we can best partner with you. Chris will also present how contextual research findings have influenced SOA Report Card sessions that Anne and end-user speakers will present at Catalyst 2008.

TIBCO ActiveMatrix Service Grid 2.0: Extensible Service Infrastructure Core

Thu, 15 May 2008 01:00:00 GMT

TIBCO Software offers a diverse set of capabilities in its ActiveMatrix product line. ActiveMatrix Service Grid 2.0 provides a system equivalent to Burton Group’s basic definition of an enterprise service bus (ESB). In this Application Platform Strategies Product Profile document, Vice President and Service Director Chris Haddad discusses the strengths and weaknesses of TIBCO ActiveMatrix Service Grid and evaluates the product’s maturity in terms of service mediation, event processing, transactions, orchestration, service hosting, composite application development, and legacy integration.

To Err Is Human, So Test That Software

Wed, 07 May 2008 01:00:00 GMT

Poorly tested software is a disaster waiting to happen, yet organizations seem content to wait and see. Sound software-testing practices are often “more honored in the breach than in the observance.” Reviewing their software portfolios to assess failure risk and consequence may be the software-testing wake-up call most organizations need. In this updated Application Platform Strategies overview, Burton Group Vice President Stuart Selip and Senior Analyst Joe Niski discuss risk and software failure consequences and review current software-testing practices, testing maturity assessments, and the usual tired excuses offered for not testing software properly.

Open Source Management: Who Owns That Software?

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 01:00:00 GMT

Open source software (OSS) is a positive force in the information technology (IT) industry, but it poses a number of challenges to organizations that want to reap its many benefits. The risks associated with license compliance and intellectual property (IP) protection cannot be ignored—enterprises must govern their OSS usage. Fortunately, open source management (OSM) tools can help. In this updated Application Platform Strategies overview, Senior Analyst Joe Niski describes OSS governance challenges, explains how OSM products work, and compares OSM products from Black Duck Software, Palamida, and OpenLogic.

VantagePoint 2008–2009: Think Big; Take Small Steps

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 01:00:00 GMT

The impending economic downturn is likely to cause a tightening of budgets for information technology (IT) departments in 2008. Software delivery teams will be hard pressed to prove their value to the business. Our advice for 2008 is to think big and take small steps. In this VantagePoint overview, the Application Platform Strategies research team discusses important technology trends and provides guidance for delivering real value to the business.

Rich Mobile Application Development: Technologies and Standards

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 02:00:00 GMT