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By Joey Gardiner, 30 April 2002 16:30

NEWS Microsoft and IBM are deliberately trying to marginalise Sun Microsystems in the fight to be the leader in web services, according to Sun's global chief technology evangelist. In an exclusive interview, Simon Phipps told silicon.com that Sun had been excluded from the influential Web Services Interoperability Organisation (WS-I) because the other vendors were worried about the success of its strategy. He told silicon: "IBM and Microsoft are very worried by Sun's web services strategy, so much so that they are taking steps to try and marginalise us - they engineered the WS-I to look like an open organisation, but to deliberately exclude Sun. "The WS-I will not answer why we're not on the board, even though most people accept we're one of the top vendors in this area." The WS-I was set up in February with the aim of encouraging the growth of open protocols to quicken the uptake of web services. It is led by founding board members IBM, Microsoft, BEA Systems and Intel, and has over 100 members in total. Sun is angry because it wasn't involved in its inception and hasn't been offered a place on the board, despite being by many estimates the number two web services vendor. Microsoft refused to respond to Phipps claims, saying it wasn't prepared to comment on a matter that was the concern of the WS-I. Last week the WS-I confirmed Sun wouldn't be allowed on the board. It said in a statement: "No new members of the WS-I board are being considered. Broad interest indicates the industry's validation around WS-I, commitment to standards and strong participation by industry players." However, today it was impossible to reach a spokesman for comment on the specific allegations. Phipps criticised the organisation, saying it wasn't really designed to open up web services, but to keep power in the hands of proprietary vendors. He said: "The WS-I is just a haven for patent-rich technologies and proprietary vendors." He contrasted this to the Liberty Alliance, a group set up by Sun and others to further a secure means of authorisation for web services. Microsoft is not a member but Sun has publicly courted the software giant, illustrating - it says - the difference between the two firms. Phipps added that Microsoft and IBM's strategy of excluding Sun had failed to stop a growing momentum behind its Sun One web services strategy. He said: "They have tried hard to marginalise us but they've failed."