The history of XML appliances have been round since the 20th Century so the ‘resurrection’ of the XML appliances may be strong and unfair comment, though there seems to be sudden spike in demand for the product that has caught the eye of the market.

The sudden recall for XML gateways to market has not been because of technological and platform advancements. SOAP, REST, APIs, DTD, XML, JMS etc. these haven’t changed greatly nor has it driven an immediate demand for XML gateways again. The answer must lie within the methodology within corporate computing environments

The immediate topic that sprung into mind was 'cloud computing'. Personally, it's cringe-worthy to hear the majority of individuals referencing cloud computing. It's an ambiguous terminology that has around 8 different meanings, all of which express the goal and the demand of business resources, which have existed within environment for decades.

One may simply define cloud computing as, 'It's the ability to provide communication from the infrastructure and resources, regardless of geographical location'… or in other words, a WAN! Though that patronizing and naive comment doesn’t help anyone. Talk to someone within marketing about cloud computing and they will give you some testimonial speech saying something like 'it's an innovated development of technology to provide a combination on meeting the demands of information as a service'

In there own fashion, both vague comments are correct though the latter is a healthier definition. It's actually the gap where business demands meet technology and marketing individuals thrive on this to bridge that gap be centralizing data. The concept of Cloud computing was recognized by John McCarthy in the early 1960s though cloud has been put into hyper-drive mainly because of the influence of Amazon Web Service (AWS), advancement of mobile applications and virtual desktops - All of which require immediate demand for information

The iPhones bigger brother, the iPad, in essence, triggered the craving for the market share of the tablet industry. There was little demand for the 'cloud' infrastructure when Windows failed to truly capture the interest for the product when marketed the XP tablet in the early 21st century. Now it seems to be a requirement because of this image of cloud computing? The positioning of AWS together with mobile devices and other aspects such as SOA infrastructure, B2B and additional security enforcements recently triggered the demand for cloud computing within companies.

The demand for dynamics, interchangeable platforms and the centralization of message exchanges has left companies craving for answers. One might suggest ‘Cloud’ is the new dot.com bubble, though there will be other fuels that XML gateways need to consider. In order for XML to have a healthy heartbeat, future influences regulation of the Internet, devices providing lightweight operating systems and centralizing the national medical records for medical advancements and providing the ability to diagnose patents by analytical understanding and radically improve medical advancements.

These may be future prospects though the current demands are all about reducing the pricing, accelerating performance, support for products as a service, meeting auditing and regulations, handing different technologies etc. A great opportunity for XML gateways, though the true calling is not reliant on short-term tactical demands. The solution relies on the product(s) with the visionary and strategic approach to concrete XML gateways within corporations.

This article was initially published in March 2012 though within May 2012 I came across this article on business insider talking about how The interest in cloud computing has peaked. When I'm right, im right!

Picking the right XML product is just like picking the right wife. Yeah you want something that's gorgeous, with a small waist, great in the sack and has too much money for the banks to hold… If you’re starting to think, 'yeah, she sounds perfect' just think for a moment have check out the picture of the women in your wallet. THAT’S RIGHT your wife has some miles on here, though think of the bigger picture.

The answer is not the immediate response. Long-term you want a loyal wife, willing to put up with your habits, well educated, has a heart of gold and if there for you throughout (amongst other things). YEAH, she might look like a troll and makes alienated noises whilst she sleeps, though you must think of the bigger picture, what is best for you in the long run? Just like any investment, you want something gorgeous short term, loving and warming long-term - Architectural software/hardware is no exception.

Commonly, customers may look at the short-term requirements to meet the business demands. Classic case, 'RIGHT, I have approval and the budget, I bought a product, implemented the product and resolved the strains… OK now what?'

I implemented the Vordel XML gateway into a healthcare environment to handle requests to be passed to the TIBCO JMS system to then hit the backend systems. The key sell here was that TIBCO could only handle JMS messaging and not the conversion from SOAP or REST-based request therefore leaving a demand for another alternative solution to compensate for this. No doubt TIBCO will be around for years to come, though would the product be enhanced if a JMS query functionality, by using an XSD-structured XML message was embedded into the product without the reliability of other appliances? I few months of addition development staging though an easy win to position the product within the market where Vordel has now a fully automated solution, including SOAP/REST <- -> JMS

That innovative approach by Vordel to provide a fully-integrated solution with the TIBCO product has allowed them to position itself with another selling point and clamp itself as a product for future purposes.

Recently, I have also been working with the OAUTH design and the integration with the Vordel product for a large American company, which will handle Google APK mobile client requests and the backend responses. Initially I small win for both companies though Vordel is the winner here. The company managed to cement themselves within the market with this new capability and having that selling opportunity.

This was the first ever deployment of OAUTH though within an 12 week timeframe, word gets around and companies begin expressing their demand and interest with the Vordel product. I like to believe this isn’t because of this new functionality but for the further enhancement and vision that Vordel have. I have come to realize that clients share their interest on the bigger scale. No one actually gives a shit these days on the OOTB functionality but instead the prospect of the product.

My conclusion, I don’t care what is better between OEG or Oracle XML gateway. Other than reading up on Oracle XML gateway and not getting my hands dirty with the product, it could be inaccurate and unfair to declare that one product is better than the other though what I can announce is that Vordel has the market awareness and the backing of middle/senior management to better position itself themselves for the foreseeable future.

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