New infrastructure lurks behind . . .

. . . the rush to service-oriented architectures (SOA). And it won"t be just more software. A new layer of hardware ultimately awaits IT managers who deploy Web services, which depend on XML messaging. "We need a network that knows how to handle messages, not just packets," insists Eugene Kuznetsov, chairman and chief technology officer of DataPower Technology Inc. in Cambridge, Mass. Next quarter, DataPower will ship its yet-to-be-priced XML Concentrator chassis, which is laden with blade computers that use specialized message processors to accelerate XML performance and apply security and quality-of-service policies. Kuznetsov acknowledges the expense and headaches of adding another hardware layer inside most corporate networks, which is why DataPower is targeting Internet service providers with XML Concentrator. Service providers will be able to charge you a pretty penny for processing XML messages -- pennies you"ll be glad to part with just to avoid managing more IT gear.

Wayne Ariola, vice president of corporate development at Parasoft Corp. in Monrovia, Calif., agrees that specialized hardware for message handling is inevitable. He says a full-blown SOA infrastructure is coming because of the technology"s success. "The early adopters are gone, and we"re off to the races," Ariola says. He claims that many companies in the race have wound up on Parasoft"s doorstep because of its SOAPtest development tools. Version 4.0 ships this week, adding improved security- and penetration-testing tools. For example, you can check if your application"s code is susceptible to XML bombs (messages that continually call themselves until a system"s RAM is overloaded) or determine if your SOA approach complies with Web services standards. SOAPtest 4.0 starts at US$3,995.

Migrate Visual Basic apps to Linux . . .

. . . and Macintosh clients with the touch of a button. REALbasic 2005 imports VB code and compiles versions of the program for Linux and Macintosh users. The integrated development environment from Austin-based Real Software Inc. next week ships in its final form for Windows and Mac systems and goes into beta for Linux. The Linux version will be ready for release by month"s end. According to CEO Geoff Perlman, VB users who need to deploy their work on non-Windows systems no longer have to worry about virtual machines or managing Dynamic Link Libraries, because REALbasic handles those details and more. The new release adds about 100 features, such as a tabbed browser and the open-source SGLite database, and costs $395 for the Professional Edition. Perlman suggests that REALbasic also will appeal to VB coders who are unhappy with Microsoft Corp."s forced march toward Visual Basic .Net. "VB .Net is radically different than VB 6 for most users," he says.

Hercules ships as software or as . . .

. . . part of an integrated appliance. Citadel Security Software Inc. in Dallas this week releases an appliance version of its Hercules 4.0 vulnerability management tool as an alternative to licensing the software by itself. Hercules gathers asset data from a dozen or so network-scanning products, finds system vulnerabilities and then remediates those security lapses. Carl Banzhof, chief technology officer at Citadel, says IT focuses too much on patching software defects, which reflect only 20 percent to 30 percent of all vulnerabilities. Unsecured accounts, unnecessary services, back doors and misconfigurations of systems account for the majority of the problems, Banzhof says. In addition, Hercules 4.0 adds risk analysis reporting so users can prioritize fixing vulnerable devices. Software licenses for Hercules 4.0 start at $28 per device. The HS1500 appliance, with the software, carries a $1,000 monthly subscription fee plus per-usage charges.

Now that the "O" word no longer . . .

. . . needs to be whispered by users weighing possible outsourcing moves [QuickLink 54064], Artifact Inc. CEO Mark Wesker contends that IT executives should start thinking like their peers in manufacturing. Software development is largely specialized and repeatable and thus could be automated, he argues. An application development supply chain "is emerging underneath our feet right now," he says, so much of the work should be outsourced to the best supplier for a given task -- either onshore or off. All IT needs is "visibility and control" throughout the app-dev process, he claims. Baltimore-based Artifact offers an online service that gives IT managers dashboard views of the state of an application"s development. Pricing starts at $500 per project.