San Francisco November 6, 2002 Solution provider webMethods this week released version 6 of its eponymous integration platform, touting it as the foundation for building "plug-and-play" integration networks.
The provider said its webMethods 6 release will serve as the anchor for a number of other extensions, making the integration platform a solution for building integration networks that enable companies to achieve what it is calling "a true enterprise dial-tone."
The enterprise dial-tone is webMethod's' concept for allowing companies to plug resources into the integration network and have them become connected to all other resources available to that network. All the power and complexity that ensures scalable performance is built into the integration network and is therefore transparently engaged by the resources that plug into it. The result, claims webMethods, is an integration network that is more dynamic and performs at very high levels while minimizing the effort required to take advantage of it.
"In the same way the telephone dial tone provides customers a means of connection without having to understand the intricacies of how that connection occurs, we have created a platform that similarly hides all the technical complexities and provides a simple plug-in architecture," said Jim Green, executive vice president and chief technology officer for webMethods.
Upgrades in the new version include streamlined modeling and development tools to improve implementation times. The solution provides users with multi-perspective views of business processes for modeling, process monitoring and overall business process management.
The new version also provides a broader range of deployment options and better management visibility, as well as greater scalability, according to webMethods.
Denver Raines, systems integration analyst and electronic data interchange project lead for webMethods customer Eastman Chemical Co., suggested the new release would provide an easier-to-use solution to meet the company's integration needs. "We're already working with the product, and the improvements in scalability and flexibility allow us to easily deploy webMethods 6 throughout the enterprise," Raines said.
