IBM Updates WebSphere Middleware
October 13, 2009 Alex Woodie
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IBM last week delivered a slew of updates to various WebSphere products that are broadly aimed at helping customers take advantage of business performance management (BPM) functionality in the context of a service oriented architecture (SOA). The newly announced products run the gamut from infrastructure components, such as a new release of WebSphere Enterprise Service Bus to industry “content packs” aimed at providing BPM templates for companies in specific industries. The WebSphere product lineup has never been easy to understand. There are at least 40 different products in the WebSphere family, and at least two or three times more when you count all of the different versions and editions of those products. With the launch of at least eight different WebSphere products last week, the WebSphere phenomena continues to defy easy categorization or explanation. But one thing is certain: Because WebSphere is Java, all of the newly announced products will run on the i OS server, an IBM spokesperson confirmed. Here’s a rundown on the announcements:
Obviously, trying to craft a common thread out of this hodgepodge of announcements products would be extremely difficult. IBM’s approach was to reiterate its leadership in the market for middleware, and to explain how it fits in with its “Smart Work” initiative. One potentially useful tidbit dropped by IBM is how customers can use its “BPM BlueWorks” offering to model existing business processes, and to see how they might improve them. BPM BlueWorks, which is a cloud-based offering that’s still in beta, allows users to see how their existing business processes stack up against different methodologies and industry “best practices.” It can be accessed free of charge at www.bpmblueworks.com.
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