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By editorial@silicon.com, 28 May 2002 10:50

COMMENT The momentum behind the application server market has been building gradually over the last few years. (http://www.silicon.com/appserver ) But it is the flurry of hype - and some would say over-hyping - of web services that has really thrown this otherwise dull but worthy piece of middleware into the fore. As a platform for the both the deployment and development of web services, app servers will be absolutely key. The cautionary note is that, as yet, web services are mostly a collection of standards. It's going to be some time before the highly promised seamless integration delivers the range and depth of services vendors are promising. But this hasn't prevented the main players from limbering up long before kick-off. In fact, the app server vendor landscape has become one of the main battlegrounds - each player vying for a slab of a pie currently worth $3bn, according to AMR Research, and considerably more in years to come. silicon.com today launches a special Hot Topic dedicated to digging a little deeper into the app server market. There are already a number of prominent players - although, as Kate Hanaghan (http://www.silicon.com/a53646 ) explains, there are likely be a few surprises along the way. Just what, for instance, is Microsoft plotting? The vendors might be dishing out the hype - as expected - but there is also a lot of value to be had by embracing this technology. Joey Gardiner (http://www.silicon.com/a53644 ) explains what users need to know about app servers to make web services strategy happen and in upcoming feature and video pieces we ask leading analysts for the advice they normally don't hand out for free. Over the coming weeks, there will be lots more news and analysis content at http//www.silicon.com/appservers and heck, if you don't even know what they are or wonder which four vendors will dominate the market, we'll even tell you that too. http://www.silicon.com/appserver