WALL STREET MUGGER

This is apparently the season of the IPO--Persistence, living up to its name, had a kick-off last Friday with Tibco Software and now Vitria waiting anxiously in the wings. Mugger wonders: Why all the urgency for these middleware players? Could it be that they have to scoop up as much cash as possible now before the middleware /EAI /(pick your buzzword) industry is replaced by XML? In fact, what happens to these major implementations of application servers, transformation and rules engines, and message transports if XML can usurp it all? However, Mugger fears that competing XML factions may rise up and stop any meaningful industry standards from coming to the fore--which, of course, would serve the vendors. Until XML standards are agreed upon, it's take the money and run.

Speaking of XML, Mugger hears that in New York the XML SIG of the Object Developers Group (ODG) will be meeting Monday, June 28, 7-9 p.m. at the Prudential Securities offices at 1 New York Plaza. This session will feature a demo by the people at Object Design who are showing off their Excelon XML platform. It should be interesting. To register for the event, contact Walter Perry, the XML SIG Leader at wperry@fiduciary.com. Also, check out http://www.objdev.org, the Web site for the group, which has been grappling with XML for about a year now. Mugger has attended many ODG sessions on XML and is rapidly becoming one of the converted! Comrades, all we have to lose are our middleware chains!

For those who are chained to Y2K, the SIA is offering a new report on readiness and contingency planning via its Web site, http://sia.com; the report from the SIA's Business Continuity Committee became available Thursday, June 24.

Mugger has stumbled upon another interesting Y2K Web site, http://www.y2kstatus.net, that lists company statements about the status of Y2K policies. Mugger reckons that these statements will be very helpful when user firms are planning to enter the courtroom, which may be the real site for Y2K disasters.