Oracle drops BEA AquaLogic and WebLogic products

Companies should check Oracle's roadmap before investing in BEA products.

The enterprise software company - which has acquired BEA - unveiled its roadmap last week, showing how it was integrating the two firms' technology.

Some BEA products will be replaced with Oracle's own products. These include some business process management tools in the AquaLogic portfolio and the WebLogic portal internet applications software.

A number of AquaLogic products will no longer be developed. Rob Hailstone, software infrastructure practice director at analyst Butler Group, said: "AquaLogic does not feature much as one of Oracle's preferred product families."

Oracle will offer maintenance for five years on products which do not fit in with its strategy. However, experts have warned it is unlikely to develop the products. This means users need to migrate to fully supported products.

Massimo Pezzini, vice-president and Gartner fellow, urged users of affected products to be extremely prudent: "We advise customers to avoid strategic investments in any Oracle and BEA product that will go into maintenance mode."

Massimo Pezzini expected Oracle to help affected users switch from non-strategic Oracle products to supported products. However, Pezzini warned migration from some products could be extremely difficult.