BEA Systems Rides Software's New Rage

It's not only software vendors that profit from Web services and SOA. PayPal, now part of eBay, (EBAY Quote) offers its checkout process for use by other Web sites, and eBay itself offers its auction marketplace software, says Dave Nielsen, who marketed Web services for PayPal and now works for StrikeIron, which runs an online marketplace for Web services. PayPal gives away the Web applications and eBay charges a small fee, and both then charge on a per-use basis, he says.

SOA and Web Services never would have arisen without the rise of standard programming tools and languages like Java, Ajax and XML. Although Microsoft(MSFT Quote) is seen as something of a laggard when it comes to supporting such industrywide standards, BEA's Gerraso says the software giant is one of the competing vendors he sees the most when his company goes after an SOA-related contract.

But Microsoft, says Gartner's Plummer, "doesn't even use the term (SOA) at all. They run the risk of being stuck with the same old stereotype, a nonenterprise toy."

There's also some disagreement about Oracle's position as an SOA vendor. Some analysts say the company is too wedded to its own technology stack too succeed in this venue, while others say its enormous customer base and technological prowess give it a leg up.

BEA has emerged as an early leader in the SOA race. But there's plenty of competition, and before long it will be impossible to find a software company that doesn't at least pay lip service to software's hottest trend.