10.04.07
IBM Gets Microsofted
For a change, the EU is gunning for IBM, not Microsoft. Throwing a possible wrench into IBM’s plans, the European Commission has decided to investigate IBM’s offer for Telelogic based on its preliminary conclusion that such a merger might have adverse effects on competition. By that, the EU is likely referring to the combination of Rational Requisite Pro and Telelogic Doors, the top tools in the requirements management space. Things are now on hold until at least February 20, when the EU commission issues its decision.
Although the Doors might be closing, there might be a silver lining for IBM.
In a sentiment that’s widely shared, my CBRonline colleague Jason Stamper speculated that the deal if consummated would likely put ReqPro’s future in doubt, as it’s less scalable and less up to date than Doors.
But as we noted after the deal was announced, the real jewel in the crown for IBM was the System Architect tool that came to Telelogic through the Popkin Systems acquisition back in 2005. Covering enterprise architecture (EA), it’s a piece that’s been conspicuously missing from IBM’s Rational portfolio. And there are some smaller fill-in-the-gaps pieces, like embedded device modeling and software product lifecycle management, which would be thrown in as well.
Obviously, IBM doesn’t want to get Microsofted by the EU commission. But depending on the findings, IBM could still wind up with a useful consolation prize if the commission requires Telelogic (or IBM) to spin off either ReqPro or Doors. Forget about the huge market footprint, but add some depth where it’s now missing, in EA. Besides, neither Telelogic’s or Rational’s products are well integrated with the rest of their portfolios.
But there’s another reason why the potential loss of Doors (or ReqPro) wouldn’t be a showstopper. Both tools are aging, rooted in legacy practices that were largely top-down in nature.
Yet, the growth spot in application development today is with lighter weight processes often described under the umbrella of “agile” development. Although executed properly, agile encompasses a mix of long and short-range planning, the emphasis is on short-term user “stories” aimed at extremely short iterations. The upside is that agile methodologies could be highly responsive. But in responding to immediate needs, there’s the danger of losing sight of the big picture. Agile teams could wind up chasing their tails.
That leaves a vacuum — you might have enterprise architects promoting best practices, and you might have enterprise software architects promoting specific software development lifecycle methodologies, but do you have anybody with a “regional” view of the issues that individual development teams are facing?
Consequently, we’d like to see folks like IBM, Borland, Serena, Compuware, MKS and others concentrate on that great underserved “middle” that rationalize “regions” of software teams. It’s a part of the market that’s begging for solutions, as the success of upstarts like Rally Software attest.
For IBM, ReqPro is an obsolete tool, constrained by its ability to digest only certain kinds of Word documents. Maybe IBM was looking to Doors as the ReqPro successor. Why not instead focus on building a new web-based, lightweight tool in tune with the needs of federated development environments that require a slightly bigger picture. IBM/Rational has already pulled that off at least once with Rational Method Composer, the versatile successor to its RUP software development process tool.
Were the EU to cause Doors to slip through IBM’s hands, it could be a blessing in disguise.