'Allegro' Joins WebSphere

The product, code-named Project Allegro, will be branded under the WebSphere software line and will combine technology from WebSphere application server, portal and commerce server, as well as Tivoli systems management software, said Bob Sutor, IBM's director of e-business standards strategy.

Allegro is built on a host of Web services standards such as WSDL and SOAP, and will rely heavily on the WS-Security standard, Sutor said.

IBM plans to release a reference implementation of the product on its developerWorks site by December, with the full product slated to be available sometime next year, Sutor said. IBM has not decided on a name or pricing, he added.

Allegro uses Web services standards to securely define functions in an application so a company can offer services such as human resources information to their employees or customers, he said.

Brad Murphy, senior vice president of strategic business development for Dallas-based solution provider Valtech, said it's already possible to build infrastructure similar to Allegro. But he said IBM's moves to integrate the technology into one product is a good idea. "I think the value is more in the integration than it is in being able to do something you can't do now," he said.

He added that some companies still might prefer to use best-of-breed solutions, and the evolution of standards will make it easier for solution providers to integrate different vendors' products.

Sreedhar Kajeepeta, vice president of e-business practice for systems integrator Covansys, Farmington Hills, Mich., said that while the industry is moving toward using Web services more broadly, the security is just not there yet. Solution providers use Web services to link companies only with "trusted partners," he said.