webMethods Introduces the Next Generation of Business Process Management Suites with Fabric 7.0 Release
January 10 2007 - 8:59AM
Business Wire
webMethods, Inc. (Nasdaq:WEBM), a leading business integration and
optimization software company, today formally introduced webMethods
Fabric� 7.0. Building upon webMethods� market-leading integration
and governance capabilities, this latest release of webMethods�
flagship product suite delivers a fully-unified environment for
process development, automation, and monitoring. Enterprises can
leverage webMethods Fabric 7.0 to reduce the cost, time and effort
associated with deploying and maintaining new processes and
composite applications. webMethods Fabric 7.0 is highlighted by the
introduction of webMethods BPMS as a newly available component of
the product suite. This full-feature business process management
suite (BPMS) includes an Eclipse-based process modeling environment
for codeless development, extensive support for both human-to-human
and system-to-system task flow, business rules management, and a
new semantic metadata library. A distinguishing feature of
webMethods BPMS is its integrated and enhanced process monitoring
and real-time business analytics, which deliver �actionable
insight� to rapidly improve business processes. webMethods Fabric
7.0 is also differentiated by the inclusion of webMethods Infravio
X-Registry and webMethods Infravio X-Broker for service-oriented
architecture (SOA) governance [see separate announcement:
webMethods Brings SOA Governance to the Mainstream, (November 7,
2006)]. As a result of this integration, users can include existing
services in their process models for implementation. �webMethods
has put a lot into its new version of the offering, part of the
Fabric 7.0 suite,� said Dr. Bruce Silver, author of the 2006 BPMS
Report. �In addition to a real SOA platform under the covers,
webMethods has put in some BPM features that will knock your socks
off. A unified Eclipse design environment with separate
perspectives for business analysts and developers, no-code,
drag-and-drop design, including an Ajax-slick task UI, an
enterprise metadata library (a result of the Cerebra acquisition),
an integrated Blaze Advisor for business rules management (sourced
from Fair Isaac and truly part of the BPMS). Also included is what
has to be the best business activity monitoring (BAM) � by far � in
the BPM space (and maybe even in the non-BPM BAM space as well).�
webMethods Fabric Accelerates Business Improvements and Competitive
Differentiation In its most recent analysis1, Forrester Research
recognized webMethods as a �Leader� in Integration-Centric Business
Process Management Suites (IC-BPMS): �One of the leading vendors in
early service-orientation solutions, webMethods has augmented its
traditional integration capability with extensive BPM capability,
as well, resulting in the most comprehensive IC-BPMS in the
market.� Within the independent research firm�s comprehensive
evaluation of thirteen leading vendors, webMethods also earned the
top overall score for Current Offering as well as Corporate
Strategy, where it tied with one other vendor for this honor.
Leveraging webMethods� long-term strength in business integration,
key capabilities of webMethods Fabric include: The creation,
management and governance of reusable services within a
service-oriented architecture; the management and automation of
business processes, human workflow and transactional systems; the
codeless development of composite applications, customized business
processes and user dashboards from reusable components; and the
integrated monitoring and real-time analysis of business, process
and operational performance. By bringing these functions together
within a single product suite, webMethods Fabric enables a more
collaborative and holistic lifecycle approach to business process
integration, management and improvement. Latest Release Sets New
Benchmark for Business Process Management Suites Building upon the
company�s long-term leadership in system-to-system business process
management, webMethods BPMS� breakthrough performance and
innovative new features establish a new standard for business
process management suites. webMethods BPMS delivers unprecedented
control over existing business processes while accelerating the
delivery of new processes and applications. It also offers
�actionable insight� for remediating day-to-day operational issues
while creating sustained competitive advantage through continuous
process improvements. �Industry leaders recognize that process
mastery is a competitive weapon. With more efficient and adaptive
business processes, they can improve competitive differentiation
and better serve customers. webMethods Fabric 7.0 makes this vision
more readily achievable for our customers as it delivers the
next-generation of BPMS,� said David Mitchell, president and CEO,
webMethods, Inc. �Integrated process monitoring and enhanced
business analytics facilitate process improvement, using real-time
insight into operational performance to pinpoint areas for
subsequent improvement. Coupled with an extremely rich development
and collaboration environment and SOA-based integration with
underlying systems, new processes can then be implemented precisely
as designed and more easily managed across their lifecycle.�
Principal features of webMethods BPMS include: Guided Process
Improvement: Users will benefit immediately from a streamlined
discovery process and more intuitive business reporting as
webMethods� business activity monitoring (BAM) capabilities have
been greatly enriched with the new release. The underlying
architecture has also been enhanced to deliver a tenfold
improvement in scalability. webMethods� BAM product is available as
a core component of webMethods BPMS as well as on a standalone
basis. With more advanced business visualization and interactive,
3-D graph-based reporting of real-time performance, users can take
advantage of these enhancements to more easily understand the state
of their �as is� process. In the case of continuous process
improvement, as defined by methodologies like Six Sigma, this
actionable insight, in the form of event correlation, automated
baselining, and business impact analysis, is used to identify
subsequent improvements. In the context of exception management and
similar scenarios, it can be dynamically and continually applied to
detect, diagnosis and remediate defective processes, transactions,
and orders with automated alerts used to ensure that corrective
action is taken in a timely manner. Unified Design Environment: A
new, Eclipse-based modeling environment improves productivity and
collaboration through the use of a single, fully-unified toolset
for addressing the entire process lifecycle. Business analysts,
developers and other users can leverage the role-based personas
offered by this new platform to more easily and instinctively
measure, model, orchestrate, manage and automate, and improve
business processes. Within this unified design environment, every
component of a process � models, swim lanes, Key Performance
Indicator (KPI) trees, step transitions and user interfaces � can
be depicted and configured into unique business processes from the
desktop. Supported standards include BPMN and BPEL for process
models with integrated testing used to identify potential break
points in the run-time process as a means for ensuring flawless
execution at implementation. Codeless Assembly of AJAX-Based
Applications: With the adoption of AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript
and XML) as the standard user interface (UI) for webMethods Fabric,
webMethods BPMS also delivers a significantly enriched user
experience. Specific benefits include the elimination of latency
from the user experience, which improves productivity while
streamlining access to real-time information. Through the use of a
�drag-and-drop� library of more than 200 AJAX-based UI elements,
end-users can quickly create composite applications and process
interfaces without the need for additional coding. With built-in
support for key standards, including JSR-168 and WSRP, these
applications can be subsequently reused across nearly any
implementation. Sophisticated Task Management: webMethods BPMS
supports advanced activity routing encompassing large workgroups
with varying roles and responsibilities. Process actors can
leverage role-based, end-user applications to streamline access to
needed information while simplifying task management and execution.
Other key features include notification, delegation and ad hoc
routing; integrated document management and other collaboration
tools; and full audit capabilities. Industry-Leading Business Rules
Management: Recognizing that the lifecycle for business rules is
just as complex as those for business logic, webMethods BPMS also
incorporates proven business rules management from Fair Isaac as a
key feature. Using the Fair Isaac Blaze Advisor business rules
engine, highly complex scenarios involving multiple sets, arrays
and string manipulations can be created, managed and deployed by
business users from the desktop. This auditable approach improves
accountability by providing process owners with the ability to
directly manage key decision criteria. Semantic Metadata Library:
Based on the acquired semantic inferencing technology of Cerebra,
the semantic metadata library offered by webMethods BPMS leverages
the Resource Description Framework (RDF) and the Web Ontology
Language (OWL) to automatically establish relationships and
dependencies between assets. As a result, users can easily initiate
concept-based searches across broad classes of IT assets, including
services, process models and KPI trees, business rules, templates,
and interfaces, to find the right asset for a specific application.
This works to shorten development cycles while fostering greater
reuse of existing artifacts across multiple projects and
implementations. �webMethods BPMS has been optimized for the
constant change associated with complex business processes spanning
multiple users and systems,� said Kristin Muhlner, executive vice
president for Product Development, webMethods, Inc. �With business
activity monitoring guiding process improvement, enterprises can
more readily detect, diagnose and resolve operational bottlenecks.
Alignment with the business is enhanced through the use of a
common, role-based development platform as a means for ensuring
more productive collaboration. Our embrace of a lifecycle approach
for managing IT assets makes these resources easier to locate,
reuse and maintain. Leveraging the underlying integration and Web
services management offered by webMethods Fabric, these assets can
ultimately be more readily redeployed, as new processes are
transparently enacted without the need for an intermediary.
Collectively, these approaches allow IT to deliver faster
development, improved accountability, greater efficiencies and
continuous improvement.� Out-of-the-Box, Enterprise-Ready
Performance Key webMethods partners have already certified
consultants on webMethods Fabric 7.0 with more partners expected to
follow. During an intensive, four-week program, participants from
Accenture, Infosys, L & T Infotech, Tata Consultancy Services,
and Wipro Technologies worked collaboratively with webMethods
developers to field test the release as part of the �Partners in
Excellence� program. webMethods� commitment to customer success is
further reinforced by the rapid ramp-up program being launched in
support of the new release. Customers participating in the program
will benefit from on-site support from webMethods Global Services,
direct access to named technical services and product development
resources for additional support, and exclusive training on
webMethods Fabric 7.0. In addition, webMethods� Business Case
Accelerator methodology will be used to identify specific process
improvement objectives that can be readily addressed with the
product suite�s initial deployment. Product Availability The
webMethods Fabric v. 7.0 product suite is available now. As a means
for accelerating time-to-benefit, webMethods is introducing �Quick
Start� editions of webMethods Fabric with project-scope pricing for
common scenarios. These promotional configurations address specific
user requirements associated with business integration, trading
partner network management (B2B), SOA governance, business activity
monitoring, and business process management. 1 The Forrester Wave�:
Integration-Centric Business Process Management Suites, Q4 2006 by
Ken Vollmer and Henry Peyret with Mike Gilpin (December 20, 2006)
About webMethods, Inc. webMethods (Nasdaq:WEBM) provides business
integration software to integrate, assemble and optimize available
IT assets to drive business process productivity. webMethods
delivers an innovative, enterprise-class business integration
platform that incorporates proven integration technology with next
generation capabilities into one interoperable set of tools that
delivers a unique combination of efficiency, agility and control.
webMethods combines industry leadership with a zealous commitment
to customers to deliver tangible business value to more than 1,400
global customers. webMethods is headquartered in Fairfax, Va., with
offices throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia Pacific and Japan. More
information about the company can be found at www.webMethods.com.
The webMethods name and logo are registered trademarks of, and
webMethods Fabric is a trademark of, webMethods, Inc. All other
marks mentioned are trademarks or service marks of their respective
companies.
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