JBoss Application Server Passes J2EE Compatibility Tests 2JBoss Application Server Passes J2EE Compatibility Tests 2

JBoss Inc. will announce Monday that it is the first company to support a fully J2EE-compatible application server.

The professional open-source firm plans to announce that the JBoss Java application server passed all of the tests that make up the J2EE Compatibility Test Suite from Sun Microsystems. In a press statement, executives from JBoss, based in Atlanta, stated the company also will release an early version of JBoss 4.0 Java application server, which is J2EE compatible, with a final release to follow later this year.

"Enterprise customers now have a J2EE-compatible open-source alternative backed up with superior services from JBoss Inc. to deliver the highest level of quality and reliability for achieving their business objectives," JBoss CEO Marc Fleury said in a press statement.

The news comes as little surprise. At JavaOne in late June, Fleury told CRN that testing of the application server was almost complete. Still, the presence of fully-certified J2EE open-source software in the market could prove troublesome for proprietary J2EE software vendors such as BEA Systems and IBM, especially since Sun Microsystems also is pondering whether to open source some of its own Java software (see story). Through Project Geronimo, the Apache Software Group also is readying a fully J2EE-certified, open-source application for release in August.

The JBoss application server already has increased market pressure on proprietary Java software vendors, and analysts believe this likely will continue as customers consider open-source alternatives to traditional proprietary software. "Frankly, the entire industry is moving towards this," said James Governor, principal analyst with London-based think tank Red Monk. "Everyone is going to be buying a combination of open-source and proprietary software."

In addition to the JBoss application server, JBoss Inc. also supports an open-source portal, and has future plans to release, either through in-house development or through acquisition, open-source business process management (BPM) and workflow software, Fleury said at JavaOne.

One likely candidate for acquisition is BPM software provider Oak Grove Systems. Oak Grove and JBoss have been quietly forging stronger ties lately, and at JavaOne Fleury hinted to CRN that JBoss may purchase Oak Grove. However, no deal has been reached.