This week US server-based software developer GraphOn Corp will unveil the first concrete result of its acquisition, earlier this year, of the jBridge project from Corel Systems Inc (CI No 3,563) when it launches WinBridge, a program that web-enables applications running on NT in a client/server environment.
The launch will be made at Comdex and will represent Campbell, California-based GraphOnÆs extension of its range from the Unix and Linux worlds into that of NT, previously the unchallenged domain of Citrix Systems Inc.
WinBridge is the combination, explained GraphOnÆs VP for sales and marketing, Robin Ford, of the core of CorelÆs jBridge with the X-Windows-based RapidX protocol and client software from GraphOn.
The first version of WinBridge to see the light of day is for the OEM market, and among the corporations already licensed to use it is, of course, Corel, which received a 20% stake in GraphOn in exchange for jBridge. Corel is using the package to web-enable WordPerfect and Corel Draw.
Of possibly greater importance, however, is the license issued to Compuware Corp, which will be using WinBridge to web-enable its Uniface application assembly environment. With some 800,000 users licensed for Uniface, the potential for generating revenue is considerable, argued Ford, if Compuware can persuade a handful of corporates to web-enable the product. It also has six such customers beta-testing WinBridge.
In its OEM version, WinBridge licenses cost around $200 per user, but Ford believes the main selling point of the package vis-a-vis Citrix alternatives is that it does not require Terminal Server to be able to function. This is because it doesnÆt make NT multi-user, just the specific application, she explained, adding that this also means the program is about 50% lighter on the server and requires about 40% less bandwidth.
By the end of this year GraphOn, which floated on Nasdaq in mid-year, plans to announce a different pricing structure for WinBridge, aimed at the application service provider market.
