Thread: Application Servers

We started tracking this category way back in 2003, and at that time wondered whether the sharp rise of this category was just a flash in the pan, or wouldit continue to grow. I guess this write-up makes it clear. App Servers are definitely here to stay, and in fact will continue to grow, because they're a key ingredient for the much hyped Service Oriented Architecture, or SOA. 64% of the users who responded to our survey already own an application server, while another 58% plan to deploy them in the near future. This shows the tremendous market potential which exists for this category of products. Let's see which are the leading brands according to users.



Out of all the app servers out there, only three managed to get into the Usrs' Choice future readiness club. Out of these, Oracle 9i/10g emerged as the most future ready app server, followed by Microsoft's lIS and IBM WebSphere. Oracle was also the second most persuasive brand ofthe lot, i.e. it enjoys higher like lihood of purchsae than top of mind recall. This is always good for the brand. Oracle also has the second highest votes for brand pull, and the good thing is that it has an overall positive pull, i.e. more users are likely to switch into the brand than switch out. Not only that, but the brand also enjoys a high degree of brand loyalty. 70% of its existing users said that they're likely to stay with it in the near future as well. 17% said they're likely to switch to other app server brands, out of which a majority of them voted for Sun.

If Oracle is moving at a speed of 100, then Microsoft lIS's relative speed is 85. Though it has more users likely to switch into the brand than switch out, its brand pull ratio is still a little weaker than Oracle and IBM. Nevertheless, it's gaining pull.
Brand loyalty for Microsoft's lIS is interesting. While 60% of its existing users said they're likely to continue using it in the near future, only 9% said that they're likely to switch to another brand. This is good, but there were another 26% of its users
who were not sure which brand to switch to. The pendulum could therefore swing either in its favor or to competition, depending upon how Microsoft leverages this opportunity.

IBM Websphere has a slightly slower speed compared to Oracle. Again, if Oracle 9i/10g is moving at 100, then IBM's Webshpere is moving at 75. It's also the third most persuasive brand. Its brand pull situation however, is the best and the same as Oracle 9i/10g. Its brand loyalty is at 60%, and only 12% of its existing users said that they're likely to switch to another brand in the near future. Another 29% weren't sure of which brand to switch to. Other brands like Sun One, and Borland didn't get enough votes to make it to the Users' Choice club.