4.4. Vendor Selection

HomeSide's IT infrastructure was already open systems-based, consisting of HP UX servers and Windows NT clients. Therefore, the Java application had to support these platforms. In addition, because the application involved complex interactions with the Oracle database, an application platform with proven transaction management functionality was required. Given its decision to embrace J2EE standards, HomeSide's platform required an application server that would support technologies such as Enterprise JavaBeans (EJBs), Java ServerPages (JSPs), and Java Servlets.

HomeSide chose BEA WebLogic Server for both the application server and the Web-server tiers. “We liked BEA's close conformance to the J2EE specifications, and that WebLogic has been one of the earliest products to support them,” says Higdon. At the time, BEA WebLogic was also one of the only J2EE products that ran on the HP UX platform. He adds that BEA's transaction management technology also helped clinch the deal. With BEA WebLogic Server, HomeSide could build an application that was flexible enough to support database concurrency, allowing Web customers and call-center staff to access the same records and process during the same session.

Having worked with the BEA Tuxedo transaction monitor while with a previous company, Higdon was already quite familiar with the technology. “BEA has a history of knowing transaction management,” he says.

In addition, HomeSide felt that while there was competition from other vendors, BEA has both the market share and mindshare to ensure that BEA WebLogic Server would not become an orphaned product.