Applications for the next generation Internet rely upon many different technologies for many different companies(*). Following figure is a visual representation of some of those technologies and the specific problem addressed by Apsora.

Server side technologies such as IBM's WebSphere and BEA's WebLogic fuel the acceleration of enterprise-class applications using Web services. Besides the industry-standard database engines such as Oracle's 10g and IBM's DB2, open source technologies such as MySQL are prevalent when it comes to enterprise-class database engines. When it comes to service oriented applications (SOA), all the major software giants are aggressively pursuing the server-side technologies.

Networking technologies are of course the lynch pin to make Internet-centric application "happen". The technology has already evolved from the 28.8K baud modems to gigabit access. And the race continues. According to a news bulletin from Internet2, "for the IPv4 record, a team from the University of Tokyo, WIDE Project, Microsoft Corp., Pacific Northwest Gigapop, JGN2 and other institutions collaborated to create a network path over 30,000 kilometers in distance crossing eight international networks. In doing so, the team successfully transferred data at a rate of 7.99 Gbps which is equal to 239,820 terabit-meters per second (Tb-m/s)".

XML based new vertical industry standards make interoperability much more consistent and error-free. Furthermore, industry specific XML-based vertical standards such as HL7 enable intra-business communications.

In the end, we enjoy the benefits of all of the above via the applications we use. Until now, Internet-centric applications have been primarily browser-based HTML pages. These HTML pages are necessary, but no longer sufficient in the next generation Internet. Although a few solutions deliver richer user interface using Flash and Ajax, the delivery vehicle is still restricted to what a browser can and will do. The client side software infrastructure, based only on browsers, remains significantly weak.

The new Internet requires capabilities on the client to execute applications, and to manipulate data from different sources. Today’s browsers are inadequate to provide executional capabilities. These limitations severely limit the capabilities of enterprise applications, solution architects struggle to implement even moderately complex applications and end-users miss their rich desktop interfaces. Additionaly, new types of client operating environments (mobile, handhelds and kiosks), as well as newer operating systems such as Linux and Symbian are proliferating which necessitates that any Internet-centric solution must be OS-independent.