Sun Acquires EAI Firm SeeBeyond

Ok, things have changed quickly since I wrote about the Celtix open source EAI project from ObjectWeb. Now Sun is getting into the business with their $387 million acquisition of SeeBeyond.

This is a good acquisition for Sun since it gives them another piece of the puzzle in terms of having a more complete software stack compared with IBM and Microsoft. For SeeBeyond customers, who may have grown concerned with SeeBeyond's lackluster performance in recent years, it's a move to higher ground. Assuming that the acquisition proceeds smoothly and that Sun continues to invest in this area, it's a good thing.

Since Sun continues to make much of its software available in Open Source, the question is when will Sun step up to the plate and make SeeBeyond open source. I wouldn't expect this to happen anytime soon, but perhaps elements of SeeBeyond will make their way into the open source stack.