Sun Takes Over iPlanet As Partnership Ends

Computerworld - Sun Microsystems Inc. last week formally took sole control of the iPlanet e-commerce and middleware software it had jointly developed with Netscape Communications Corp. for the past three years. Some users and analysts said the move could give iPlanet a needed shot in the arm.

Sun and Netscape dissolved their Mountain View, Calif.-based iPlanet E-Commerce Solutions joint venture effective March 17, hewing to plans that were disclosed last fall by Sun executives. The iPlanet operation is now a division of Sun, which owns all intellectual property rights to the software.

Sun plans to solidify the standing of iPlanet's technology as a core component of its Sun Open Net Environment software line, according to a letter that was sent to customers by Sun CEO Scott McNealy two days before the alliance with Netscape ended.

The iPlanet products include e-commerce software and middleware tools such as application, directory, messaging and Web servers. In his letter, McNealy said iPlanet is "critical to Sun" and described the venture with Netscape as "a remarkable success."

Companies Didn't Gell

But David Smith, an analyst at Gartner Inc. in Stamford, Conn., said the partnership between Sun and the AOL Time Warner Inc. subsidiary turned out to not be as good a fit as the companies had hoped.

AT A GLANCE
IPlanet Alignment The iPlanet line includes the following key technologies: Application Server: Java 2 Enterprise Edition-based software for use in developing and managing e-commerce applications Directory Server: A central repository for storing and managing user identity profiles and access privileges Portal Server: A tool that supports the deployment of Web-based portal applications Web Server, Enterprise Edition: Software targeted at use in running corporate e-commerce Web sites

For iPlanet users, the end of the alliance probably won't produce any immediate negative changes, Smith said. Instead, he predicted, the software will likely get more focused attention now that it's being developed solely by Sun.

That's the prevailing view at the Chicago-based American Hospital Association, which is installing Sun hardware and iPlanet software to set up a unified server farm and single end-user portal for 38 Web sites that are operated by different groups under its organizational umbrella.

The breakup of the alliance with Netscape won't affect those plans, said Herman Baumann, the association's executive director of business development. "If anything, it's been better because we've been able to work [more directly with Sun] on a cohesive basis," Baumann said, referring to changes that were made informally before the breakup became official.

When the hospital association was weighing what software to use as part of the project, the joint venture "didn't play a role in whether we went with iPlanet or not," he added.

IPlanet E-Commerce Solutions began as an alliance between Sun and Netscape to develop a software platform for the creation and delivery of Web services. Sun said the venture was ended under terms set when the deal was first signed. Under the agreement, iPlanet's employees will be fully under the wing of Sun. Financial details weren't disclosed.

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