CM architecture has the ability to influence the market, even more so than vice versa. The
complexity of CM and ALM forces vendors to take the lead in market development. But the market will have its influence, and those solutions with strong architectures will be in the best position to serve that market.
Last year at this time, I identified where I thought the CM solution space was heading generally. Looking back two and three years ago, I painted a bit of a picture of
what defines 3rd and 4th generation CM/ALM solutions. Over the next couple of years, we should expect to see competitive and market pressures push the industry into the 3rd
generation.
So this year, I'd like to anticipate a few specific trends that will start to shape the market over the next year or two, as third generation solutions begin to emerge: Pricing, Ease-of-Use and Customization .
Before we do, let's review briefly the key capabilities that constitute a 3rd generation architecture.
]3rd Generation CM/ALM
What features distinguish 3rd generation solutions from their 2nd generation counterparts? This is one person's opinion on what additional features are required in a 3rd generation CM/ALM solution, so expect there to be a certain level of subjectivity. As you go through the feature list, try to envision the architectural requirements of a 3rd generation solution. If there are particular areas you wish to zero in on, look at the CM Journal January 2005 and January 2006 articles by this same author.
Administration and Operations
- Low Administration (single administrator)
- Fully Interoperable between Windows/Unix, Big/Little
Endian architecture, 32/64-bit architecture - Low Risk, Rapid Roll-out and Upgrade Capabilities
- Scalability to Hundreds of Users per Server
- Platform-independent scripting integrated along with
repository data access - Basic Multi-site Capability Across Entire Tool Suite
maintaining Low Administration - High Reliability and Availability
- Data Transaction Journaling and Data Recovery
Capabilities - Advanced Backup and/or Redundancy Capabilities
Configuration Management
- Change Package-based CM Model and Processes with
Change-based Promotion Model - Workspace Synchronization/re-basing
- Formal Support of Stream Based Development
- Minimizing Branch/Merge Requirements (e.g. thru use of
1st Order Objects) - Stream-based Automated Branching/Knowledge of Branching
Strategy and Product Road Map - Easy Build/Release Compares: source, changes, defects,
features - Automatic Build/Make/ANT File Generation
- Easy Bulk-load Capability for End Users, including
multiple Source Baselines and Problem/Feature/Change Data
Applications and Process
- Integrated, Configurable Process State/Transition
Capability - Role-based data access and functionality
- Broad set of Integrated Applications from Requirements
Management through to Test Case Management - Seamless Integration of CM/ALM Applications on a single
repository, common user interface - Extensive High-Level Customization: Process, GUI, Schema
- End-to-end Traceability
- Real-time Metrics to Support Decision Making
Ease of Use
- Unix, Windows, Web Access Interfaces
- Role-based Operation
- Rapid Performance
- Flexible Reporting and Interactive Query
- Context-sensitive on-line help
- Advanced Merge Operations with Selectable Diff/Merge
Tools - IP-based and File System-based Connectivity Capability
So with this as a background, let's look at three key trends that will help shape the CM/ALM solution market over the next couple of years: Pricing, Ease-of-Use and
Customization Capabilities.
Pricing
The cost of ownership for CM technology, including consulting, operations, licenses, maintenance, training and customization, has been historically high. In fact, such costs have, in some cases, been the difference between a profitable and unprofitable year. When these costs are compared against the bottom line, it becomes clear that such costs cannot be sustained year after year, especially while other technology costs continue to drop. So pricing changes will be coming.
Open source tools have encroached on the low end CM solution space. More to the point, they've taken it over except for a couple of significant commercial players on which enormous price pressure has been placed. As long as they can continue to differentiate themselves from the open source solutions, they will have their market share. But
there may also be some pricing pressure to contend with from higher end solutions. In any event, low end CM solutions will be dominated more and more by open source solutions.
Moving up to the middle of the solution space, there are a number of older solutions and some new ones, including open source solutions, which are competing. These are typically big IT solutions which knit together a number of tools into a somewhat coherent
ALM solution. The verdict is still out on the open source ALM solutions, but the market will not support the big ticket prices of the big IT solutions much longer. Cost is too much of a risk, especially with other alternatives emerging. It's easy enough to do
About the author
Joe Farah is the President and CEO of Neuma Technology and is a regular contributor to the CM Journal. Prior to co-founding Neuma in 1990 and directing the development of CM+, Joe was Director of Software Architecture and Technology at Mitel, and in the 1970s a Development Manager at Nortel (Bell-Northern Research) where he developed the Program Library System (PLS) still heavily in use by Nortel's largest projects. A software developer since the late 1960s, Joe holds a B.A.Sc. degree in Engineering Science from the University of Toronto. You can contact Joe at farah@neuma.com
