Gartner, Inc. estimates that companies have overspent about $1 billion on application server technology since 1998 and that they are going to waste another $2 billion over the next two years.

That estimate, if correct, is a sign, not only of the magnificent excesses companies seem to make when they implement computer technology, but of the lack of understanding many businesses have of the software powering their enterprises.

The Gartner press release caught my eye because of the painstaking manner the PR writer took to explain his subject to the executives to whom it should matter.

"Application server is a function, not a product," Gartner advises. "Check your technology inventory to see if you already have the capability in an existing product or a free product." "Application server is not the same as Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE). For example, the Microsoft Product line lacks J2EE and Java, but has application server functionality.

Hey, it's still gobbledygook. "Application server" is a general term for intermediate software that connects database information, usually coming from a database server (i.e. a large computer where the database or information is organized), and the end-user or client programs.

"There are many reasons for having an intermediate player in this connection - among other things, a desire to decrease the size and complexity of client programs, the need to cache and control the data flow for better performance, and a requirement to provide security for both data and user traffic," says TechMetrix in an article describing the technology.

Since the advent of the Internet, where software connects Web users to a database or transactions processing system, application server technology had been a booming business. The market was worth about US$2 billion in 2000, IDC estimates, but is crashing in the downturn.

Application server products are written in a variety of programming types: Java-based, non-Java based, and what TechMetrix calls the "Microsoft solution".

Gartner's statement that "application server is a function, not a product" really means there is no off-the-shelf product that can simply be lashed on to any business network. Instead there's a range of software available that can do various things, some of it free, and some costing a few million dollars to implement. Hence the confusion.

"The application server vendors are encouraging customers to purchase higher-end technology that they just don't need," Gartner said. "It's like buying gourmet food to feed kids at summer camp." The three of the main computer server manufacturers - IBM, Sun Microsystems, and Hewlett-Packard - offer full Java capability, and Java programming dominates the server market. A TechMetrix poll in February 2001 found that 75% of database servers were using some sort of Java product, 12% Microsoft products, and 13% were in the "other" category. The "other" category includes PHP, which is free software developed for creating Web pages (www.php.net).

Microsoft desperately wants more than a small foothold in the application server market as part of its larger strategy of taking over the Web.

Microsoft is currently developing what it calls its .Net series of products, including an operating system, incorporating applications, and a suite of tools and services. Its strategy is the same as usual: you buy the application server technologies offered by Microsoft and you automatically opt for the entire Microsoft suite of products, including the Windows operating platform.

That leaves Linux, Netware and Unix platforms out in the cold. According to Microsoft the new .Net products are designed to connect the user to an array of computers and services rather than just interact with an application or a single Web site.

That is, the .Net products are intended to allow companies to use a virtual network running on top of the Internet backbone so they can integrate such functions as fax, e-mail and phone services, centralize data storage and synchronize all user computers.

A big part of Microsoft's plans is to allow users to store and access all their software applications and services through the Internet - and you can guess the bill for those services will soon be in the mail.

Whether Microsoft conquers the market will depend on the quality of the .Net products and marketing. "Don't let confusion or hype push you to spend more than necessary," Gartner says. Sounds like the mantra for the times.

Tech Tattle deals with topics relating to technology. You can contact Ahmed at editoroffshoreon.com or (33) 467901474.