Integration Server Software Platforms

Integration server software platforms support homogenous or heterogeneous enterprise application integration and a variety of other general middle-tier functions (see following list), primarily in support of B2B commerce but also in support of similar functions outside standard business environments (e.g., B2C) as well. ISSPs provide a robust infrastructure for both automating business processes and workflow and orchestrating and choreographing all of the functions mentioned in this Application Development and Deployment Software Market Definitions section of the taxonomy. These products are different from the ASSP products described previously in that they are primarily concerned with the following tasks:

• Significantly transform the content of messages beyond what is needed to simply broker messages (see the Message-Oriented Middleware section)
• Respond to queries and take other automated actions based on logic and/or rules that are specific to the context in which the software is being used
• Integrate multiple in-house-developed, custom-developed, and/or packaged software

In various combinations with other application deployment software products, ISSPs perform one or more of the following functions in the logical middle tier of a distributed multiple-tiered environment of clients, back-end applications code, content, and data sources:

• Homogenous and heterogeneous enterprise application integration (EAI)
• Business process automation (BPA), also called business process management, business process integration, and workflow and business rules management (but not standalone business process modeling tools or business rules engines; see the Analysis, Modeling, and Design Tools section)
• Business logic and event alerting and integration monitoring
• Orchestration and choreography of all of the above

However, ISSPs often leverage point-to-point, classical unifunctional middleware and integrate components in the same way that ASSPs do. It is therefore increasingly more important in terms of market dynamics to look at the application deployment software market aggregation; the separate markets began to merge in the 2001/2002 time frame. Representative vendors and products include the following:

• Adobe LiveCycle Workflow Server
• AT&T/Sterling Commerce Gentran Integration Suite
• BEA WebLogic Integration Server
• Fiorano Business Integration (formerly called Tifosi) products (but not Fiorano MQ; see the Message-Oriented Middleware section)
• Fujitsu Interstage products
• IBM WebSphere Process Server
• Microsoft BizTalk
• Oracle Integration and BPEL Process Manager
• Sun/SeeBeyond Java Integration Suite
• TIBCO Staffware and BusinessWorks products
• webMethods products (not including portal)