IBM WebSphere
“WebSphere” most often refers to WebSphere Application Server–IBM’s proprietary Web server, primarily for the use of larger corporations and public entities.
Advantages
- Hardware compatibility: WebSphere can run well on many different kinds of hardware, from modest to enormous.
- Part of a complete solution: The WebSphere application server is meant to be used with IBM’s business software tools, integrated and sold under the WebSphere brand. These tools are extremely powerful, with many strengths: handling simultaneous requests, authentication and authorization, load testing, and modeling (via a tool called Rational Rose) are just a few.
Disadvantages
- Expense: The WebSphere application server costs a great deal of money to license, as do the other products in the WebSphere brand. Developing software for WebSphere can also cost more. There is a free version of WebSphere available, with much more limited capabilities.
Choosing WebSphere
The decision to use WebSphere is part of a decision to commit to IBM’s range of services and solutions–a fine choice in many cases, but not a choice you would make incidentally in the process of developing software.
