04 July 2008
Companies should check Oracle's roadmap before investing in BEA products.
Oracle - which has recently acquired BEA - unveiled its roadmap last week, showing how it was integrating the two firms' technology.
Some BEA products will be replaced with Oracle's own products. These include some business process management tools in the AquaLogic portfolio and the WebLogic portal internet applications software.
A number of AquaLogic products will no longer be developed. Rob Hailstone, software infrastructure practice director at analyst Butler Group, said: "AquaLogic does not feature much as one of Oracle's preferred product families."
Oracle will offer maintenance for
five years on products which do not fit in with its strategy. However, experts
have warned it is unlikely to develop the products. This means users need to
migrate to fully supported products.
Massimo Pezzini, vice-president and Gartner
fellow, urged users of affected products to be extremely prudent: "We
advise customers to avoid strategic investments in any Oracle and BEA product
that will go into maintenance mode."
Massimo Pezzini expected Oracle to help affected
users switch from non-strategic Oracle products to supported products. However,
Pezzini warned migration from some products could be extremely difficult.
