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HP preps NetAction to boost web services
HP is introducing a software package designed to compete with products from iPlanet and IBM's WebSphere unit.

By Barbara Morgan

Published: Tuesday 23 January 2001

The software package, NetAction, resulting from the recently completed $470m acquisition of web application server vendor Bluestone Software, will become the point of integration for HP's current internet software offerings. NetAction includes integrated service management software, security software, internet service tracking and billing and e-services integration software.

According to HP, the acquisition expands HP's portfolio by adding J2EE-XML-based applications servers and tools to the HP's OpenView software.

Bill Russell, vice president and general manager of software solutions at HP, said: "This is a dynamic new direction for HP software. The integration organisation will be nimble, limber and quick to respond to marketplace conditions".

Leading competitors in the field include offerings from IBM and iPlanet, the alliance between Sun Microsystems and Netscape. iPlanet recently rolled out its Integration Server 2.1, designed to integrate legacy applications and systems with internet-based solutions.

For its part, IBM has a lot of the building blocks in place to deliver services over the web, including the tools necessary to provide back-end infrastructure to web service developers.

The WebSphere platform includes a Portal Server version, which offers customised presentation capabilities and support for syndicated content providers and WebSphere Personalization, which includes user and content management and profiling functions.

The Gartner Group noted in a market report in October that nearly every company making a play for enterprise customers had either introduced or said it would introduce a web services strategy.