Progress Software has unveiled a product roadmap that enables business application developers to support a new service-oriented architecture (SOA) using the OpenEdge platform. The company`s product strategy was introduced to support the standards-based integration of Web services and the development of new service-oriented applications.
Through a two-pronged approach, Progress Software is building a rich set of integration technology for existing OpenEdge business applications, and evolving its new repository-based application environment, Progress Dynamics, to serve the needs of next-generation, SOA applications. The strategy will enable businesses around the world to benefit from the ability to automate more business processes by integrating best-of-breed application modules for which the Progress Company`s 2 000 application partners, rich in domain expertise, are renowned.
"Aberdeen`s research has consistently shown that Progress has done an exceptional job in providing cost-effective embedded infrastructure for key business-critical applications, a vital consideration in these cost-conscious times," says Wayne Kernochan, managing vice president, Platform Infrastructure, at Aberdeen Group. "The improved performance and scalability, open flexibility, and increased capabilities should allow Progress to deliver even better cost of ownership in both existing and new Web service-oriented applications. Moreover, by offering independent software vendors (ISVs) an SOA that should provide a smooth path to Web service development, Progress is ensuring that the variety and depth of domain expertise of its development partners translates to a broad array of attractive solutions for businesses as they target their Web services efforts towards immediate bang for the buck."
With the release of Progress 9.1 D, Progress`s OpenEdge platform is extending its toolset for building open, highly integratable applications.
The Progress V9.1 family of application deployment products provides the ability to interface business logic with any application client, any data source, and any other application. OpenEdge business logic can be encapsulated and exposed to a wider range of integration adapters with the secure, Internet-enabled functionality of Progress`s OpenClient technology. This standards-based approach to application integration is more flexible, cost-effective, and much more scalable in a distributed environment than using proprietary, hub and spoke oriented integration brokers. Applications and services can be plugged-in to SonicXQ, the Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) to share information with other applications and services on the bus.
Through its support for the ESB, OpenEdge can leverage pre-built, configurable services to perform integration functions such as content-based routing and XML transformation to ensure information can be used by any application on the bus, without additional coding.
"Progress has a goldmine of applications for development around the world," says Rick Parry, MD of Progress Software SA. "The fact that seven new Progress-based application partners are being brought to the local market will bring in niche applications, which in turn will deliver value-added benefits to the local businesses."
Parry has identified key business drivers as the need to tighten supply chains and raise business process efficiency, combined with emerging integration standards which result in new demands on business applications, as well as offering new opportunities for specialised developers. Progress believes that in the future landscape of modular, service-based applications, the OpenEdge platform will continue to provide developers with the most cost-effective and flexible platform for developing, deploying, managing and integrating business applications.
Progress is planning to release a technology preview of its Web Services Developer Tool Kit through the Progress Software Developers Network late this year. The toolkit will simplify the task of developing applications that consume Web services messages through the Progress AppServer by leveraging its OpenClient technology. This approach will provide Progress developers with a familiar toolset and design methodology for exposing applications as Web services.
"The OpenEdge strategy will support and simplify Web services so that they are just another natural part of building integrated business solutions," says Parry. "This strategy is in line with Progress`s objective which is to go back to basics and core values by continuously providing rapid return on investment and capitalising on inherent investments."
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