• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • SCB YouTube
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Supply Chains in Crisis
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • THINK TANK
  • WEBINARS
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Webinar Library
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » Business Process Management/Service Oriented Architecture Market Consolidates

Business Process Management/Service Oriented Architecture Market Consolidates

September 5, 2007
From BPM Institute/Mike Rosen

The convergence of the BPM and SOA markets continues to make news this year and the pace of consolidation has increased in recent months. In March, BEA Systems acquired Fuego and added BPM to their SOA platform, positioning BEA as a strong, independent consolidated BPM/SOA platform. BEA has moved away from the ESB term and instead is aiming for the BPM space. In July (2006), HP acquired Mercury Interactive to expand its portfolio of management software. The real news in the SOA market was the incidental acquisition of Systinet's repository, which Mercury acquired in January. This move must have made competitors BEA and Oracle uneasy since they have embedded the repository in their Aqualogic and Fusion platforms.

In August, WebMethods acquired Celebra, adding semantic metadata management to its integration platform. BEA acquired Flashline, adding a design time repository to their platform to begin replacing the Systinet registry. IBM acquired Webify to add industry specific (insurance, healthcare, finance) capabilities to their SOA suite. And, in September, not satisfied, IBM and WebMethods scooped up more companies. IBM acquired FileNet to add content management to their ever-growing suite of products. This allows them to expand beyond BPM into the enterprise content management market. WebMethods acquired Infravio to add registry and governance capabilities to their platform hoping to build on their strength in business integration to provide a more general SOA platform.

So what's happening? The BPM space continues to expand, adding SOA platform capabilities, content management and other capabilities. The SOA space is expanding, filling out platforms, and pushing up into the BPM space. BPM and SOA will overlap more with each new acquisition and product release.
Overall, I think this consolidation is good for customers who can get a richer set of features and for the industry, which was overcrowded with product offerings. But don't expect seamlessly integrated products any time soon. I expect to see three phases of product releases:

1. Rebranding - First, the acquired product is made to look like other products from the new company. names, graphics, etc., are changed. This usually takes only a few months.

2. Initial integration - Next, a new release of the acquired product comes out as part of the overall product suite. Much of the look and feel is updated to be consistent with other products in the suite. However, some parts usually don't make the first pass and will still have the old UI or inconsistent features. Some new features will be added to make integration with the rest of the platform more complete, and installation and packaging will be integrated.

3. Complete integration - Finally, the products will be completely integrated. User interaction will be consistent across the products. Value-added features will make all products support each other. Common configuration and common utilities will be added. This level of integration can take 12 to 18 months.

If you're in the market for BPM or SOA, now is a good time to evaluate the different vendors. But you'll have to be patient with the next version of the product suite, which largely will be a collection of products that aren't fully integrated. Evaluate them against your particular requirements, and give yourself added protection by looking for products that adhere to standards in case future consolidation doesn't go your way.

Mike Rosen is an independent consultant providing advice and assistance on the design and implementation of SOA, business, application and enterprise architecture. Mr. Rosen is also Co-chair of the BrainStorm SOA Conference Series and Editorial Director of SOA Institute. He has years of experience in the architecture and design of applications for global corporations and 20+ years of product development experience for distributed technologies.
http://www.bpminstitute.org

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

From BPM Institute/Mike Rosen

More from this author

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter!

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • A MAN IN A SUIT SHAKES HANDS WITH A WOMAN IN A HARD HAT, NEXT TO A STACK OF CONTAINERS

    Three Procurement Technology Evolutions for 2023

    Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
  • DOCUMENTS BEARING THE INSIGNIA OF US CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION LIE ON A TABLE

    New CBP Regs Call for Greater Diligence by Brokers in Reporting Security Breaches

    Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
  • The blank stare of a child's eye who is standing behind what appears to be a wooden frame

    The Alarming Continued Rise of Modern Slavery in Supply Chains: How Procurement Can Help Reverse the Trend

    Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
  • A WORKER IN A WAREHOUSE, SUPERIMPOSED WITH GRAPHICS SHOWING SUPPLY NETWORK

    Enabling Intelligent Visibility With Supply Chain Analytics

    Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
  • A GROUP OF WORKERS RANGED IN AN OFFICE, OF DIVERSE RACE, GENDER, AGE AND PHYSICAL ABILITY

    Podcast | The Supply Chain Workforce of the Future Is Already Here

    HR & Labor Management

Digital Edition

Scb nov 2022 sm

2022 Supply Chain Innovator of the Year

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • New Revenue for Cloud-Based TMS that Embeds Orderful’s Modern EDI Platform

  • Convenience Store Client Maximizes Profit and Improves Customer Service

  • A Digitally Native Footwear Brand Finds Rapid Fulfillment

  • Expanding Apparel Brand Scales Seamlessly with E-Commerce Technology

  • How a Global LSP Scaled its Security Program and Won More Business

Visit Our Sponsors

Orderful Yang Ming Alithya
Barcoding Blue Yonder BNSF Logistics
CoEnterprise Data Capture Deposco
E2open GAINSystems Generix
Geodis GEP GreyOrange
Here Honeywell Intelligrated IFM
Infor Inmar Keelvar
Kinaxis Korber Lean Solutions Group 2H
Liberty SBF Locus Robotics Logility
LogistiVIEW Lucas Systems MCA Connect
MPO Nvidia Old Dominion
OpenText ORTEC Overhaul
Parsyl PMMI QIMA
Redwood Logistics Ryder E-commerce by Whiplash Saddle Creek Logistics
Schneider Dedicated Setlog Holding AG Ship4WD
Shipwell Tecsys TGW Systems
Thomson Reuters Tive Trailer Bridge
Vecna Robotics Verity
Verusen
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright ©2023 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing