BEA loneliness

In 2005, the BEA World (BEA Technology Conference) Beijing At the meeting, the face of reporters Alfred Chuang still could not conceal his confusion. For this ambitious software companies have been widely felt concerns that its performance slip in 2005 less than 13 billion dollars in revenue and 30 billion dollars the amount of target why would there be such a huge gap. In this regard, as the BEA founder, global CEO of the Alfred Chuang said, "I wish I knew the answer, but I do not know."

In fact, this confusion has plagued Chuang four years. BEA 2001, annual revenue of 10 billion dollars, its annual revenue has hovered around this number, created from 1995 to 2001, BEA time in six years to become the fastest speed ever 10 Million Annual Revenue software companies. The original wunderkind, it now appears it is an entirely different story.

Find the answers in the same time, Chuang also to seek comfort from the industry. Characterized by a major acquisition, the software industry has been quietly staging the world's largest integrated, the global software industry ranks fifth in the embarrassing position to bring BEA is - difficult to fight off Microsoft's unsolicited takeover and Oracle, was the inability to find suitable acquisition valuation. This advance and retreat of the storm will be directly into a grilled breast BEA warm, the wind behind the cold position.

Chuang respect themselves often have a special sense of loneliness, "With the continued integration of the software industry, merger, there will be a kind of feeling of standing above the crowd, to keep the challenge."

Dangerous "fifth"

Over the past two years, Microsoft and Oracle's pending acquisition of plans to let people watched a family of software company disappeared. When Chuang look around, I found middleware camp has few competitors at this time of BEA stands out. He understood, was eyeing sooner or later.

In fact, before 2003, interested in acquiring PeopleSoft, Oracle has been expressed to the BEA acquisition intentions, but then the cost of 3.7 billion acquisition of the imagination beyond the Oracle gave up the idea.

Who wants to buy but can not insert a leg come. Followed by Oracle, Microsoft also pledged to buy BEA, which, Chuang smiled and said, "Before all the feeling of fear the company Microsoft, is now Microsoft's fear of each company." He said, and now the threat from Microsoft's acquisition of not large, and advise the company "now better concentrate the company against Google." - from the SUN independent company out of doors, as always, Chuang still maintaining "anti-Microsoft" tradition.

Nevertheless, many seem to, BEA's position in the global software industry is still a very dangerous "fifth" Not only that, with the former compared with several software companies, both in market value or annual income of the BEA are there is a huge gap, the risk of the acquisition is still difficult to lift in the next few years.

However, BEA's logic, the market is to support the voice of BEA "independence" continue the momentum. "Customers should have more options," Chuang said, "In the past, when customer choice may be 'IBM or BEA' (IBM or BEA), it is 'IBM and BEA' (IBM and BEA), the software industry to live together coexisting. "Meanwhile, the integration following the acquisition of a software company for any is a headache.

Questioned at the same time of the merger, BEA does not mean indifference to the acquisition, on the contrary, BEA's acquisition of the same operations in full swing. November 2005, BEA acquired in the United States, a Java tool developer SolarMetric, but this is the acquisition of BEA in 2005, the fifth company.

In fact, this acquisition of BEA was founded in the beginning of the tradition has existed, in the high-end acquisition of BEA Tuxedo for transaction processing applications have gained a foothold, and after the acquisition of WebLogic application server market, the rapid growth of established BEA leadership in the middleware field. There are clear indications that, BEA's acquisition in the foreseeable future will not stop, and Alfred Chuang is suggesting, in 2006 BEA could put his hand to the Chinese some of the industry application software company.

This seems to say one thing and practice, has been brought to Chuang, "opportunists" fame, and Alfred Chuang will argue that this is just BEA break the way it had to take periodic bottlenecks. Some analysts view, if the BEA acquisition before the existence of speculation, now the situation has not tolerate the slightest chance Chuang, M & A situation, the level of competition in the market even more brutal.

Upper and lower extrusion

Lunch at the Technology Conference on Asia-Pacific region from the BEA has been in private discussions the two employees the company Oracle. In fact, internal sources from BEA, BEA is now the talk of staff in addition to IBM and Microsoft, Oracle has become the latest hot spot.

Over the past two years, the software industry, earth-shaking changes have taken place, too easy, once competitors have become the company of brothers, and to maintain alliance partners for many years may be incorporated into hostile camps. Oracle acquired PeopleSoft in late 2004 became a landmark event in the software industry, before focusing on levels of enterprise applications software vendors have been no problem at all, such as the underlying database vendor Oracle and BEA middleware companies such More emphasis is on cooperation, even if competition is local "moderate competition."

But clearly, Oracle broke the balance, the way it announced the acquisition of software companies large and do their own, from the underlying database, middleware, platform and application software all-out, and their multiple levels of product bundling.

Even worse, Oracle's model appears in many of the software giant has become a trend. In July 2005, SAP Technology Conference on Innovation in China, SAP introduced its NetWeaver middleware platform, the core of the SOA (service-oriented architecture) project, and SAP's ERP system is different, NetWeaver is an open integration and application platform, which means that SAP will also be a match for BEA in the middleware field one.

Relative to do these operations are supported by application software vendor, BEA is clearly a lack of applications from various industry experience, and when that company's full line of products from top to bottom with packing up, when sold, certainly better than the BEA attract customers. This approach is also found in IBM middleware platform, the sales process.

BEA CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) Marge Breya admit that this sales model with the BEA's business is completely different form. The BEA is concerned, "our job is to make every effort to prevent our markets are squeezed up and down," now can do only in the product "at least one step ahead of competitors" and reminded customers attention to the independence of BEA .

Undeniably, this has caused untold pressure on BEA, but also into a passive position. Occupation to full advantage in the product, which means time BEA had tightened nerves. Even so, if going it alone, BEA can be the result only being blocked.

Reef alliance

Prior to BEA, CTO (chief technology officer) Rob Levy at CA (Computer Associates) as chief technology strategist, also has created a do middleware services and consulting company. From the beginning, he said BEA's open source policy to welcome, in his view, BEA push Chong Kaiyuan has its own business logic behind - the application server has become the network infrastructure to value-added space also increasingly smaller part of the source code open to BEA the value far exceeds the loss.

Chuang said, BEA will be a future for a long time to sell products rather than services, software companies, which means that most of BEA services to be outsourced to partners. In the same order of magnitude of the partners increasingly rare today, from small systems integrators to help is very important, but open source is for "the people" of a big move.

BEA established allies have become the most important addition to product research and development work outside. In this alliance system, how to balance the technology vendors and system integrators the weight of their own has become a major problem considering BEA technology provider choice has been getting smaller and smaller, and the system integrator for this uncertainty is also an alliance is full of risks.

In fact, in BEA's alliance has quietly generated some changes. BEA Technology Conference held in a few days later, however, has maintained good cooperation with BEA SUN relations with middleware vendors from China Orient Technologies Inc., launched the BOA (Business Oriented Architecture) concept, which runs through the BEA the venue has been a main theme of the SOA program.

Although the two concepts is only one word, but the software business in Greater China Director, Dr SUN seems, "SOA is still a relatively empty concept, is relatively far away from practical application," comparison, "BOA to address the specific needs of our customers. "

In addition to BEA is now outside, IBM, Oracle, Microsoft and SAP and others are mentioned the concept of SOA, but it can obviously see that the various all stand on our own point of view, the concept referred to different, BEA although the first company to launch a substantive SOA products, but the direct result of the concept of chaos mostly customer-see approach. On the other hand, enterprises implementing SOA means that the previous software architecture to reinvent the wheel, it is too costly for many companies, not realistic. This Application is for BEA in SOA at the same time also means a huge investment in high-risk factor.

Overcoming loneliness

Even so, in the eyes of Alfred Chuang, SOA BEA is still out "10 billion" chance of a major storm.

June 2005, BEA released its new brand "Think Liquid (fluid thinking)", this thinking to the enterprise IT environment, frozen, hard-wired into the flow of the assets of corporate assets, simplify the existing information transmission. Also announced its AquaLogic family of products, AquaLogic is BEA's SOA program's leading products. Chuang said that BEA's history this is a landmark change, "so that information flows like water in the enterprise," BEA's aspirations to become the theme.

But had to face on the BEA in SOA from IBM, Oracle, Microsoft and SAP's competition, IBM has On-Demand strategy, Oracle has a strong product chain from enterprise applications, database to middleware to boost their SOA services from Microsoft operating system to the application have strong technical support, and SAP's NetWeaver also seem concerned about. To compete with them, BEA also difficult to avoid in a single middleware product predicament.

Chuang is now able to think of ways to change the way in sales, AquaLogic and WebLogic by two series of products, infrastructure and services in the application infrastructure aspects of "diversified portfolio", for combined sales.

The policy in the new channel, the channel with the typical experience in the industry rely heavily on suppliers have become increasingly evident. Although the alliance remained loose, but the open-source policy to maintain the "popular project" or competitors in the growing confrontation with the strength of BEA.

Chuang said that he Yaoda out is a "creative license", he should strengthen its leadership position in the middleware market. For him, to overcome loneliness, the first is "passive become active" attitude change. M & A threat has not been lifted in time to take the initiative, targeted acquisitions to continue in the alliance system is still full of variables under the precautionary Passing.

But clearly, this process should last long, Chuang is not clear, but when he used to visit years ago, Dolby Laboratories feelings to motivate themselves - the year he met the head of Dolby Laboratories, a 70-year-old the elderly, "then I think they do a very good technology, but how long it takes to allow the market to accept this technology, who do not know." In 2004, Dolby company is listed, has grown rapidly. Alfred Chuang told himself, "as long as the sustained efforts will ultimately be successful, do not give up easily."

Composite or unitary?

Internet Weekly ": You once said, BEA to 3 billion U.S. dollars by 2005 annual income, but do not realize, what do you think caused it?

Alfred Chuang (BEA CEO and president of the world): I wish I knew the answer, but I do not know. At present, the slow development of the market, all companies have slowed down growth, such as Microsoft's growth is very slow, Oracle through the acquisition of some large companies to drive the company's growth. But we also see some light, market is open, there are more new customers to deploy new systems.

How long in the end be able to return to the situation of the software market in 2000? We do not know.

"Internet Week": The idea that only large and comprehensive software industry to survive. As a product relative to a single software company in the market and how to deal with IBM, Oracle and other companies combined sales model?

Marge Breya (BEA Chief Marketing Officer): A very classic business problems. In any industry, there will be some of the company's products or business combination is very broad and there are some other companies to do very focused market segments based, BEA is very focused and very single company.

Our products, services, customer support must be better than Oracle, the value of our demands are greater than their similar products. So that we can tell the customer, all products are bought in a store, as part of the BEA to buy from, so we must do better, this is a single company as the product must do.

In every industry have the same example. For example, in retail, there are large supermarkets, there are small boutiques.

"Internet Week": In comparison IBM, Microsoft, Oracle these companies, such as pure middleware company BEA, you think to compare what are you, what are the strengths and deficiencies?

BEA Systems (BEA executive vice president of product): First of all, take middleware speaking, our products and their is no gap. It can be said, BEA's products than their products more reliable, more durable overall, while more efficient. We can connect different applications to one, while SAP and Oracle are the only link their systems.

Inadequate to say, we are only at the company level, they are smaller than, nothing more.

"Internet Week": Some software vendors believe that China's software companies rely on independent development is difficult to make up their own, only dependent on large foreign industrial chain to survive the following is possible, whether you support this view?

Rob Levy (BEA Chief Technology Officer): This argument is extreme. Survival is divided into several stages, and only survive through innovation, we emphasize innovation, do not care about size of the enterprise, as long as there is innovation on the line. In addition, Agility is also worth emphasizing that the company should have better agility and innovation, so as to survive, do not care you are in the U.S. market or the Chinese market.






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