BEA Delivers Web 2.0 Enteprise Tools

New applications targeted squarely at bringing mash-ups, social networking and more to the enterprise.

March 28, 2007

2 Min Read
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BEA today unveiled three products aimed at helping IT create and deliver enterprise-scale Web 2.0 and social-computing applications behind the corporate firewall.


BEA says that its vision is to blur the distinction between developers and users--something that could give nightmares to IT managers concerned about security and compliance. But users increasingly are accustomed to rich Internet applications outside of the office, with public mash-up tools requiring little programming expertise. Offering users something similar within the enterprise can prevent them from deserting the IT department for outside services.
Centralizing management of Web 2.0 applications has several advantages, most important that security policies can be enforced and that applications developed by one group can be reused by others. However, building applications isn't something every employee will be willing or able to do, and the products aren't shipping yet.
Andy Dornan
NWC Technology Editor

The three products--BEA AquaLogic Pages, BEA AquaLogic Ensemble and BEA AquaLogic Pathways--let companies produce social applications while giving IT full control to manage end-user participation and access to corporate data, BEA said.

Social computing and Web 2.0 is all the rage these days, but enterprises must weigh the value of increased interaction against the need to secure enterprise data and applications.BEA's AquaLogic Ensemble (formerly called Project Runner) is infrastructure software for developers and IT operations that lets them make and manage enterprise mash-up applications. Mash-ups take data from various sources, both public and behind-the-firewall, and bring them together to create new applications.

AquaLogic Pages (formerly Project Builder) is designed to let end users access and expose enterprise data and create simple Web applications for day-to-day business use.

AquaLogic Pathways (formerly Project Graffiti) is a collaboration tool that combines social book-marking and tagging with search and activity analytics. It is designed to help users within an enterprise discover relevant information--and to help others discover it as well.

In addition to the new development applications, BEA has launched a new resource for the Web 2.0-enabled enterprise at http://en.terpri.se.

RELATED LINKS
bullet The Skinny on Web 2.0
There's plenty of chatter about a concept called Web 2.0 bandied about by Silicon Valley marketers, bloggers and pundits of all stripes.
bullet The Big IT Vendors Promise Web 2.0 Capabilities
Microsoft, IBM, and Google are most prominent, but Oracle, SAP, and Cisco have plans, too.

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