IBM Updates WebSphere B2B Software

New features to WebSphere Business Integration Connect 4.2 include support for the AS2 standard for processing EDI-based transactions, and the RosettaNet standard for connecting trading partners over the Internet, said Marie Wieck, IBM's vice president of WebSphere Business Integration.

The new software also supports the Linux operating system, which was unsupported by earlier versions, Wieck said. In addition, the update has new monitoring capability that can track the state of transactions between the hub company, which manages messages, and the trading partners sending and receiving them.

WebSphere Business Integration Connect 4.2 is slated to be available in September and will come in three editions, Wieck said.

WebSphere Business Integration Connect Express 4.2, designed for simple and rapid installation and aimed at small and midsize customers, is expected to cost $500 per CPU for a limited number of partner connections.

IBM, Armonk, N.Y., also will offer an Advanced Edition of the product with support for more trading partners, but pricing is not yet available for that version, Wieck said.

WebSphere Business Integration Connect Enterprise Edition 4.2 is similar to the Advanced Edition but designed to manage larger trading communities. It is slated to cost $150,000 per CPU with no restrictions on the number of partners with which a customer chooses to transact.

IBM also is unveiling services to help companies get connected using WebSphere Business Integration Connect 4.2 through a partnership between IBM Global Services and Viacore, a software and solution provider that develops and deploys private trading communities for customers.

The services--branded Ready, Activate and Operate--walk a customer through all of the steps to establish a trading partner network, Wieck said. The services will cost $10,000 per trading partner and are slated to be available in September when the new software is available.

Viacore is the only company that will be offering these services with IBM when they are available in September, Wieck said. However, IBM will consider extending the availability to offer Ready, Activate and Operate services with other solution providers once the launch is complete and there is more customer interest in the services.