Expeditor Hopes to Tip the Balance Toward Java

Published: November 8, 2006

by Dan Burger

Call it a Microsoft .NET alternative. IBM Lotus calls it Expeditor, but among this product's targets are shops where alternatives to .NET are being sought, or at least considered. This might be particularly relevant to an organization that has Java-based applications in the back-end system, or an organization that is contemplating a move to Linux. More importantly to IBM, it provides companies that are on the fence about whether to dedicate resources to .NET with a reason to come to the Java side.

In this regard, Expeditor provides three options for moving forward with a Web services or service oriented architecture (SOA) plan. It supports existing Visual Basic and Active X controls on the Expeditor platform; it uses software from IBM business partners Mainsoft and Diamond Edge to convert VB apps to Java apps that run on the platform; and it extends existing server-based Java apps to the client.

One of Expeditor's most noteworthy features is that it is a client-side development platform. As such, it can be used on a variety of clients such as desktops, laptops, tablets, PDAs, and smartphones. It's Eclipse-based and, therefore, works with J2EE-based applications. From a data perspective, it can reach any JDBC source. From a client perspective, it supports Web services through Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) and the Web Services Descriptor Language (WSDL).

The developer toolkit, which installs as an Eclipse feature, provides wizards for portal and Web services-based applications and templates that can be used to create off-line applications.

IBM is touting the security benefits that allow Expeditor to be centrally managed and for applications to be distributed with pre-defined, user-access levels based on an employee role or function. Without the appropriate security access, users are locked from viewing or updating sensitive or confidential data. Such features do not exist with .NET and Visual Basic applications.

The current marketing buzzword used to describe Expeditor capabilities is "enterprise mashup." In this instance, it's the capability to combine, on the client side, applications that were created in Java, Lotus QuickPlace, C++, legacy Active X controls, Visual Basic, Flash, and PDF.

It allows people to take applications offline, says IBM Lotus product manager Angus McIntyre in his description of Expeditor. It also makes it possible to render information locally on the client. "It performs business logic, data store, and transactual messaging on the client, which allows construction of applications in a format that can be handled remotely. The benefit is that productivity exists without being connected. The data and the applications are synchronized as you come back online."

It should be noted that Domino applications that run today on Notes and in the future will run on the next major release of Notes, code named "Hannover," will not run on Expeditor. One of the important aspects of the Hannover release is the tight integration with Eclipse.

Pricing has yet to be announced. McIntyre says it will become available "before the end of the year."

Additional information can be found at this IBM Web page.