BEA Preaches Integration

The number one challenge facing businesses today is the integration of old and new technologies, says systems integrator BEA. Integration was the number one topic of discussion at the company's eWorld Conference being held in Orlando this week. "IT has been more a Tower of Babel than a Garden of Eden," BEA Founder, Chairman, and CEO Alfred Chuang said in the keynote speech kicking off the conference. To aid companies in the creation of a fully integrated enterprise, BEA has released the latest version in its WebLogic series of products, WebLogic Platform 8.1. The product, according to BEA, can provide IT organizations greater responsiveness to line-of-business needs, lower overall IT costs, and increase the return on IT assets. "Convergence means bringing together application development and application integration into one unified framework. Today we're delivering convergence as we deliver WebLogic Enterprise Platform 8.1 WebLogic 8.1 delivers the future, while leveraging the past." BEA WebLogic Platform 8.1 includes new versions of BEA's application server, Java virtual machine, enterprise portal, application development and deployment environment, and software integration solution. Built on the J2EE platform, BEA says the suite allows users to integrate systems as well as build and deploy their own applications and Web services. Chuang explained that the lack of a standard application-infrastructure platform has prevented enterprises from leveraging legacy systems and from building the applications their businesses need for competitive advantage. Also presenting a keynote address was Carly Fiorina, chairman and CEO of Hewlett-Packard. Fiorina stated that after undergoing one of the largest mergers in history with software producer Compaq, successful systems integration surfaced as a key business strategy. "The value proposition of IT needs to change," Fiorina said. "You have to be able to adapt your infrastructure more rapidly and deploy systems in real time to meet your business needs."