BEA Adds Three New Services To Support WebLogic

BEA, San Jose, Calif., will now be offering business-integration assessment services, as well as new education and support services to customers and partners implementing WebLogic 8.1, the latest version of BEA's Java-based middleware platform that shipped in late summer, said Tom Ashburn, BEA's president of services.

The business-integration assessment services, which cost $21,000, provide customers with a road map, best practices and solution acceleration guides to design an architecture best suited to their companies' plan for business integration, Ashburn said.

The new education services provide a curriculum tailored for partners and customers implementing WebLogic 8.1 software, he said.

In addition to holding scheduled training classes, BEA is offering Web training or will send an instructor to provide personalized training to a customer or solution provider on-site, Ashburn said.

Public instructor-led training classes cost between $2,759 and $3,000 per course. On-site training costs $25,000 per week, and Web-based training is priced between $580 and $1,520 per class.

In addition, BEA is offering new support services for WebLogic 8.1, including a new live chat element in its Web-based support, Ashburn said.

BEA hasn't historically had a strong professional services business, while its chief rival, IBM, has a multibillion-dollar services arm with IBM Global Services.

However, Ashburn, who joined BEA in late 2002 after 34 years at Hewlett-Packard, said BEA's services business has been growing steadily over the past year.

Ashburn's last position at HP prior to joining BEA was as chief of the vendor's worldwide services. He joined BEA specifically to help grown that part of the company's business.