HP, JBoss Partner on JEMS Middleware Stack for Linux, Unix, and Windows

Published: January 17, 2006

by Timothy Prickett Morgan

Many moons ago, Hewlett-Packard paid $470 million to buy Bluestone Software to get its own middleware suite, and soon after HP ate Compaq, it decided to go agnostic with middleware, and promptly shut down its middleware business to focus on selling products from BEA Systems and JBoss. HP's relationship with JBoss just got tighter today.

In June 2004, HP said that it had certified the JBoss 4.0 Java-based Web application server on its Xeon ProLiant and Itanium Integrity servers, and would sell support services on the JBoss server through its HP Services organization. (At the same time, HP inked a similar deal with the open source database maker MySQL.)

Today, HP is announcing that it will now provide worldwide support for the full JBoss Enterprise Middleware Suite (JEMS) on Linux, HP-UX 11i Unix, and Windows Server 2003 running on its ProLiant, BladeCenter, and Integrity servers. Under this deal, HP becomes the single point of contact for support for JBoss products. HP will configure the JBoss software on the machines through its Factory Express custom manufacturing operations in Houston, and HP Services will offer installation and technical support. The agreement calls for JBoss to cross-train HP's tech support team and to provide level three support. HP agrees to sell the JBoss tools and to give JBoss a cut of the action. The exact size of the cut was not divulged.

According to Jeffrey Wade, worldwide marketing manager for HP's open source and Linux organization, the JBoss software will be available through HP at the end of February. He says the two companies are also building reference platforms for Linux, HP-UX, and Windows platforms to make it easier for customers to install JBoss. HP can also sell standalone support for the JEMS tools for customers who want to buy it directly from JBoss, or have already done so.