IBM Unveils Integration Tool For WebSphere Commerce

IBM

Called IBM CrossWorlds Extender for WebSphere Commerce, the software uses XML and J2EE standards to connect legacy applications and packaged apps such as SAP or PeopleSoft to WebSphere Commerce, said Steve Gatto, WebSphere Commerce integration manager at IBM. The new product stems from IBM's acquisition of CrossWorlds, a business-process integration company. The deal closed in January.

"[WebSphere Commerce customers have been asking us how they are going to integrate with their existing enterprise applications to seek information around orders, shipping goods, managing inventory, etc.," Gatto said. "What we've done is combine WebSphere Commerce and preintegrated products from the CrossWorlds portfolio."

IBM CrossWorlds Extender for WebSphere Commerce will be available in the third quarter for a one-time charge of $150,000, Gatto said .The CrossWorlds tools will be standardized on the WebSphere Application Server 5 platform sometime next summer, he added.

In other news, IBM last week said it would standardize all of its software and integration developer tools--including tools for the MQ Integrator and CrossWorlds products--on the Eclipse open-source framework. Eclipse already serves as the foundation for WebSphere Studio, the J2EE- and XML-based toolset for the WebSphere development platform.