Gartner Dataquest Survey Identifies the Leading Web Services Products that Systems Integrators Plan to Support in 2003.

Business Editors

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 5, 2003

As systems integrators plan to build Web services delivery capabilities in the next 12 months, Microsoft.Net, IBM WebSphere, and Oracle are the three leading Web services products they plan to support, according to a recent survey Dataquest Inc., a unit of Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT and ITB).

"There is a proliferation of Web services products being used in the systems integration channel. However, there is an emerging distinction between the top three or four products that systems integrators will target for skills investment, and those Web services products they will use on an opportunistic basis at a client's request," said Michele Cantara, principal analyst for Gartner Dataquest's IT Services group.

In September 2002, Gartner Dataquest completed an Internet survey of 44 consulting and systems integration vendors in North America. "According to our recent survey, Microsoft .Net was targeted by 58 percent of system integrators as one of the top three Web services products to ramp up delivery capability," Cantara said. "Forty percent selected IBM WebSphere, and 31 percent cited Oracle as one of their top three Web services products for capability investment."

In August of 2002, Gartner Dataquest completed an Internet survey among 138 enterprises that were using or planning to use a systems integrator within the next 12 months to design or implement a Web services solution. The survey showed 33 percent of end users that are working with systems integrators are planning to use Microsoft.Net, while 39 percent plan to use Java/J2EE. The survey shows that smaller companies tended to favor Microsoft.Net and large companies tended to favor J2EE architectures and products.

A comparison of end-user and systems integrator survey results shows that while systems integrators are predominantly implementing Web services solutions within the four walls of the enterprise, end users are planning to use Web services in multi-enterprise solutions.

"While larger companies tended to have established a Web services platform of choice, smaller companies were still undecided. This shows that the systems integrator does not always dictate the choice of Web services platforms, and that Web services software vendors that are not among the chosen few should look at the smaller, undecided companies where they are more likely to find opportunity for their product," said Joanne Correia, vice president for Gartner Dataquest's Software Industry Research group.

Additional information is available in the Gartner Dataquest Market Trends report "Systems Integrators and Users Advance Web Services Use in 2002." This report examines the use of Web services technologies and products by end users, as well as consulting and systems integration services vendors. The report also provides market size and forecasts for the worldwide IT professional services market relating to the use of Web services integration software. The report can be purchased on Gartner's Web site at http://www.gartner.com/DisplayDocument?id=383247&ref=g_search.

Gartner will provide additional analysis of the Web Services IT professional services market at the Gartner Application Integration Conference May 5-7 at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, California. For more details or to register for this conference visit www.gartner.com/2_events/conferences/2003/apn10/apn10.jsp, or call 1 800 778 1997.

Gartner will provide additional analysis on Web services at Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2003, to be held March 23-27 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California. Gartner Symposium/ITxpo is the IT industry's largest and most strategic conference, providing business leaders with a look today at the future of IT. For more details or to register for Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2003, visit www.gartner.com/us/symposiumwest or call 1-800-778-1997. Members of the media can register for the event by contacting Maria DiMasi at 212-699-2734 or e-mailing [e-mail].

Gartner Dataquest, a unit of Gartner, Inc., is the recognized leader in providing the high-technology and financial communities with market intelligence for the semiconductor, computer systems and peripherals, communications, document management, software, and services sectors of the global information technology industry.

Gartner, Inc. is a research and advisory firm that helps more than 10,500 clients leverage technology to achieve business success. Gartner's businesses consist of Research, Consulting, Measurement, Events and Executive Programs. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, and has 4,000 associates, including more than 1,000 research analysts and consultants, in more than 75 locations worldwide. Fiscal 2002 revenue totaled $907 million. For more information, visit www.gartner.com.