The Middleware Company (TMC) today announced a new business model, management team, and corporate identity. With this announcement TMC is exiting retail Java training to focus on community, consulting, and research, all aimed at creating the world's leading "knowledge network" for middleware professionals.

According to TMC...

TMC's business now includes TheServerSide Communities to support developers and architects, MiddlewareREACH technical marketing solution for vendors, and MiddlewarePRO architectural planning and performance services for enterprises. As part of this move, The Middleware Company is exiting the retail training business and focusing its efforts on building a focal point around middleware information and solutions.

As a result of this announcement, TheServerSide Communities members will see increased levels of service and access to greater amounts of middleware content. TheServerSide.com and TheServerSide.NET have added a “federation” bar to the top of their communities that will link together these relevant communities, starting the formation of a middleware knowledge network. Additionally, The Middleware Company is launching http://MiddlewareRESEARCH.com/, the world’s first portal dedicated to the analysis and distribution of research on middleware technology. TMC has migrated all of their specifications and research to this portal, will host all new research at this location and will begin efforts later this year to collect and host third-party middleware research there.

Additionally, The Middleware Company unveiled a new management team and corporate identity. The management team includes entrepreneur and TMC co-founder Salil Deshpande, CEO, former BEA executive Tyler Jewell, COO, TheServerSide.com founder Floyd Marinescu, GM TheServerSide Communities, and middleware consulting expert Will Edwards, VP Research and Practice Management. The new corporate identity includes a revamped website and corporate logo designed to inspire edginess and based upon the XML brackets we all know and love.

I believe these changes to TMC's business are good for TSS and the community. For years, TMC was a training company, and TSS was this cool thing that we were doing on the side. Now the whole company is focused on solutions that will empower the middleware community. This will mean more content, more news, more research and more community. Over the coming weeks, we'll be unveiling new partnerships, releasing the results of the Who's Who in Enterprise Java list, announce findings of our latest research initiatives, and prepare for TheServerSide Java Symposium 2004, which is close to selling out.

Check out the new www.middleware-company.com and the press release.

Neat stuff! Would you be willing to share with some of us entrepeneurs why you decided to get out of the training business? Did it turn out to not be very profitable?

Neat stuff! Would you be willing to share with some of us entrepeneurs why you decided to get out of the training business? Did it turn out to not be very profitable?

Hi Corby-
We decided to exit the retail Java training business for a couple of reasons. This was done after a lengthy and careful analysis of our core strengths, assets and desires as a company. Training was a profitable business unit for TMC and it was the P/L that got us off the ground. However, the training market is fragmented, faced with pricing pressures. The broad range of software makes it difficult for niche training firms to grow without consolidating with other firms that have complementary solutions. There are few barriers to entry and many large (Developmentor, Wintellect, etc.) and regional training providers trying to compete. While our training business was still growing and showed positive margins, the opportunity cost of the other businesses was significant enough (and exciting and sustainable and scalable) to warrant this change.

We are going to be having some partnership announcements in the coming weeks along the lines of education and training. It's an exciting time right now for middleware.

Tyler Jewell
The Middleware Company

Wow, spring cleaning! I guess this is a natural maturation of the business space where training profits seems to be shrinking. I wonder what that portents for JBoss, Inc. I wonder if the extra content means you are moving toward a for pay subscription portal...

Just wondering...

I personally don't mind a paid subscription if the content is worth it and it would make the information less biased toward TMC's partners. Well, bias will always be there. For example, I pay for JavaOne subscription even though it's becoming more or less a propaganda mouthpiece for Sun without any critical review. But hopefully TMC can choose the right balance between competing partners and stay objective as much as possible.

I wonder if the extra content means you are moving toward a for pay subscription portal...

At this time, we do not have any plans or intentions to consider putting a for-pay subscription model in place with TheServerSide Communities. Within TMC, there is a growing belief that the value we provide isn't embedded strictly within the content, but within the relationship we have with developers, vendors and enterprises. There are numerous companies and Web sites that have migrated to for-pay content models, but we are concerned about the harm and damage that it would do to the social and community aspects so prevalent on TSS.

Our focus right now is to grow and expand our solutions: TheServerSide Communities, MiddlewareREACH, and MiddlewarePRO. As we do this, we are going to be investigating ways to bring high quality content to the community, but also offerings that allow TMC to build stronger relationships with you, the vendors and enterprises. It's this combination that will be our recipe for long term success.

Tyler

I wonder if the extra content means you are moving toward a for pay subscription portal...

Seconding Tyler on this one... That's not something I'd personally consider for TSS. We got to where we did because we did our best to empower developers and make a useful, free, contribution to the community.

Floyd Marinescu
GM, TSS Communities

I am looking forward for your VB.NET and SourceSafe training courses :-P

Quite a predictable move...

I am looking forward for your VB.NET and SourceSafe training courses :-PQuite a predictable move...

Just kidding. I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. :-)

I wonder if the lack of trainees has anything to do with the ill conceived Pet Store application that was stealthily contrasted to Microsoft's implementation. TMC can flood the forums with pro-Microsoft evangelists to defend its political views but it doesn’t change the facts: front line consultants judiciously tell customers The Server Side is a staging ground for Microsoft missionaries pimped by TMC. You can usually spot them a mile away with statements such as “I pick the best tool for the job” with no reference to availability, scalability, manageability, maintainability, platform neutrality, etc. It’s the VB way.
 

The Server Side has sacrificed java advocacy (Your J2EE portal) for quick and dirty cold hard cash from Microsoft and the outcome will be dwindling support for TMC.

The last thing TMC has problem with is credibility. They always have published the actual results of their tests no matter how devastating to themselves. What I would like to though is to have the two sides' theserverside.com and theserverside.net compounded together to one. As it is now it is always possible to discredit any uncomfortable opinion by claming "what are you doing here, go to the other side" and/or claiming that anybody with a different opinion than your own is a "Troll", because it is different from the public opinion for the day.

Regards
Rolf Tollerud

we all know the difference between interesting but uncomfortable opinions and plain trolls. You can't expect people silently swallowing aggressive, cynic postings as being just "different opinions".

I think in 90% of those cases were your own messages were critisized, they were critisized rightfully. On the other hand, there are many threads were you provided interesting opinions / tricky questions and nobody attacked you, simply because you did not raise theses issues in this annoying sarcastic style.

in short: if you don't want to be attacked for trolling, then simply don't troll ;-)

joe

The last thing TMC has problem with is credibility. They always have published the actual results of their tests no matter how devastating to themselves. What I would like to though is to have the two sides' theserverside.com and theserverside.net compounded together to one. As it is now it is always possible to discredit any uncomfortable opinion by claming "what are you doing here, go to the other side" and/or claiming that anybody with a different opinion than your own is a "Troll", because it is different from the public opinion for the day.RegardsRolf Tollerud

It has never been about the opinion in itself, it is about the way it is expressed, example:
1) IMHO Java is a better platform compared to .Net
2) Java rules, .Net sucks!!!!
Both phrases state essentially the same opinion, but there are clear differences between what one would perceive from reading both (mainly regarding the person who emits them!). It all boils down to being humble and educated, instead of arrogant and blunt. Opinions are more easily assimilated with some humbleness going along. Now, whether said opinion is right or wrong, that's another discussion... ;)

Cheers!
Henrique Steckelberg

If you are focusing on research, you still have some credibility issues in my mind after that horrible J2EE vs. .net comparison. Furthermore, TSS has never been a source for useful information; more like a news aggregator. Also, the discussions section is one of the worst I've seen and is the last place anyone would look for help on anything other than their homework. The "Patterns" section is a complete joke, and you all should be ashamed for letting the general public post patterns. It seriously destroys your credibility. And how is all this supposed to make money?

Furthermore, TSS has never been a source for useful information; more like a news aggregator.

TSS *is* a source for useful information in addition to news aggregation and forums. Two examples I consider *extremely valuable*:

1) Reviews: I know of no better source for community opinions about J2EE app servers. I go to TSS Reviews first before considering a new J2EE app server.

2) App Server Matrix: Where else do you get such awesome condensed information to use when considering different J2EE app servers?

Furthermore, TSS has never been a source for useful information; more like a news aggregator.

<br>

Come on guys, lets give TSS some credit. It is the first site I check for news. Good news or bad news, credible or incredible, but it's a nice, clean, consolidated source of information. And it's FREE. People are putting in hours organizing information and managing the site, and we are benefiting from it. Like any public site where people can post opinions TSS forums can turn into containers for bashing of OPT (Other People's Technologies:-) but I'd like to show my appreciation to people at TSS for helping us keep up with the news.

Just don't commercialize it too much and don't let the revenues drive the opinions emphasized on the site. That way you'll keep the credibility and people will be coming for more.

Good luck.

If you are focusing on research, you still have some credibility issues in my mind after that horrible J2EE vs. .net comparison.

I imagine that Floyd might comment about your concerns relating to TheServerSide. I would like to respond about this quoted statement.

We encourage the input from the community about how to improve our solutions and I thank you for taking the time to share your concerns. We have made a number of process improvements for our research that the community may not be fully apprised of.

1) Where possible, we document the work we are going to do in a public specification available for public / expert review and feedback.

2) We frequently engage third party experts who volunteer their services to provide feedback and input into specs and research. We make sure to document all of their incorporated and unincorporated feedback.

3) We have authored a research code of conduct that all future TMC research will adhere to: Code of Conduct

4) We have moved our disclosures in all of our research reports to page 1, so that there is no ambiguity.

5) We have set up MiddlewareRESEARCH.com endeavors to fully document all artifacts, research documents and discussions relating to a specific effort.

6) When we talk to developers and members of the community, we continue to see an incredible interest and demand for technical, hands-on research on middleware technology. We are going to keep talking to developers so that our research reflects what the industry needs to see.

If you have additional concerns about our business or want to provide more feedback, we'd love to hear it. You can feel free to contact me offline directly at tyler@middleware-company.com and I'll answer any questions you have.

Tyler

"TSS has never been a source for useful information"

I have forgot, is there a sign for surprise?

Before the Pet Shop almost all development was made with EJB.
If it wasn't for "that horrible J2EE vs. .net comparison" it still would be so. TCC literally changed the world Order".

Not too bad for such a small company..

Regards
Rolf Tollerud

"TSS has never been a source for useful information"I have forgot, is there a sign for surprise?Before the Pet Shop almost all development was made with EJB. If it wasn't for "that horrible J2EE vs. .net comparison" it still would be so. TCC literally changed the world Order".Not too bad for such a small company..RegardsRolf Tollerud

Gezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!! think of a paid subscription? good! you'll receive as a bundle the post of your TSS ofical troll spreading FUD, lies, unaccurate statements asthe ones shown above, etc. Shit! No way! I rather go to JavaLobby. Better yet, I'll move over BORLAND forums.

Hello Roberto Calero aka Just a Software Developer

So you could not keep a "gentlemen’s agreement" then.. Well I guess we all know why.. When you go to elsewhere, don’t forget to bring with you all your anonymous aliases!

BTW. For their own good I would recommend Assirt Research in Sydney as soon as possible arrange a discussion the Middleware Company. It would be interesting to us all to find out how much money they/you have been unnecessary wasting so far! :)

Regards
Rolf Tollerud

Rolf,

I take your last posting as a direct offense and if I knew your real name and location, You would be introduced to my lawyer soon. Unfortunately, I do not know who you are or where you are located. I have already asked you politely to stop mixing with your nemesis "Just a Software Developer". If you have any problem with him go to TSS.NET and work things out with him.

If I happen to find any other posting about me being being refered as "Just a Software Developer", I will be forced to talk to Dion and enforce removal of all your postings. As you said, personal reputation is something to be careful about and I am just enforcing my right to live in peace.

I hope this is the last time I ever need to post anything addressed to you.

Tyler, these points are a good start towards fixing the credibility of TSS/TMC, and I for one am glad to see this change.

There is one more issue that you need to deal with though. Do you intend to do anything about the use of fake TSS-aliases as a way to discredit competiting products/projects? As you are aware of this has become a bad habit by certain companies/groups/projects, and I would, for one, applaud any steps taken towards dealing with it.

Do you intend to do anything about the use of fake TSS-aliases as a way to discredit competiting products/projects? As you are aware of this has become a bad habit by certain companies/groups/projects, and I would, for one, applaud any steps taken towards dealing with it.

Hi Rickard-
Yes, we actually closely monitor everything that happens on the communities. And, there are two areas that have become a growing concern for us over the past 12 months: aggressive trolling and mis-information through anonymous aliases.

We've already had numerous discussions on both topics. A year ago, we opted to take a path of patience and concern. We didn't know if these elements were a fad, or if they were the early indications of a more serious problem.

At this stage, it's getting to a point where we may need to re-evaluate some user models and explore options that we could implement, because I do think this is getting out of hand.

Our instinct has historically to not moderate or get involved with what and how people say things. We've only moderated a couple users for extreme purposes: because it was impossible to have fruitful discussions.

We'll reopen the lid on this soon.

Tyler

I don't know if I am part of the problem or not. But if I am, it is the easiest thing in the world to solve. Just drop me a mail and I will disappear and certainly not come back under any anonymous alias. Precisely as I did in theserverside.com. Ted expressed dissatisfaction with my postings- I asked him to remove my .NET membership, which he did. That was all there was to it.

Regards
Rolf Tollerud

Rolf: I don't know if I am part of the problem or not.

You're a goof, but at least you sign your name to your posts .. no, it's not you.

Peace,

Cameron Purdy
Tangosol, Inc.
Coherence: Clustered JCache for Grid Computing!

TSS has never been a source for useful information

Dave, thanks for sharing your perspective with us. While I disagree with some of your comments, I can see why you might perceive them that way.

Firstly, although our news appears to be aggregation, a lot of our news is actually announcements and events that are exclusive to TSS and are not reported anywhere else. On any given week, 50% of the news posts are submitted by others in the community who are announcing work they are doing or are aware of at the grassroots level. This isn't stuff you can find at any major news site, and not something you could find on your own, unless you spent 5 hours a day combing thousands of RSS feeds and manually visited hundreds of project/product pages.

On patterns, it's true that the section could use a revamp. Three years ago that section served an important purpose - providing a place for people to post and share J2EE best practices when there was no such venue or book available. Today, it could use a revamp.

I'd also encourage you and other TSS members to consider many of the useful innovations in content that we are providing on a regular basis, that no other sites provide, including video tech talks, pre-published and timely book in review chapters, free book PDF downloads, real world project case studies, and regular articles on the most timely of development topics.

thanks,

Floyd

TSS has never been a source for useful information... the discussions section is one of the worst I've seen... The "Patterns" section is a complete joke...

No one is putting a gun to your head pal. If you don't like the site, feel free to take the next train out.

And how is all this supposed to make money?

Oh, I'm sure they are just doing this out of the goodness of their hearts, for charity's sake. Better question: Why do you care?

exactly. I also like this site, and when i started J2EE programming, many of the online ressource by TSS helped me in that matter. Furthermore, the audience is more mature and knowledgeable than on other sites.

and the whole .NET thingy will resolve on its own. It may have a future, sure, but not in any way exciting or interesting for myself or the organization i work for. What i want to say is that it should be clear by now that the added value of .NET over Java is much smaller than the added troubles.

cheers
joe

Just to let you know that there is something wrong with your top level menu
in IE 5.0, IE 5.5 (Windows 2000) on your new sites. The white space below the
menu is actually twice as bigger than the whole content

Dmitry
Coldbeans

The claim that the new middleware research web site is the world's first of their class is just not true.

The IEEE Distributed Systems OnLine web site (http://dsonline.computer.org/) cover more research areas than only middleware and has been around since more than two years.

Start by researching THAT!

The claim that the new middleware research web site is the world's first of their class is just not true.

We are very familiar with dsonline.computer.org and are big fans. And, while MiddlewareRESEARCH.com is a new site, it's focused specifically on middleware where dsonline has a broader perspective. I admit that we are splitting hairs and that our marketing tag line for the site is open to interpretation. With MiddlewareRESEARCH.com, we'll be focused wholly on research relating to middleware and later this year, we'll be deploying a model that has us incorporate research from third party sources and dsonline is a possible partner for us to work with. So, we are very excited about the possibilities.

Tyler