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Event Summary
CrossWorlds Software, an enterprise application integration vendor, has
announced that it is now offering downloadable Java components to make
it easier for customers to acquire components and utilities with specific
functionality. The vendor will create a CrossWorlds Exchange site on a
subscription basis, for $50,000 per year with additional fees for some
components. The vendor's goal is to simplify development for customers
and make their EAI solution more ubiquitous.
In
addition, the vendor has announced that Ingersoll-Rand Corporation will
use the CrossWorlds tool to connect their Oracle e-procurement and legacy
applications. CrossWorlds' e-business infrastructure software will enable
Ingersoll-Rand to integrate its Oracle applications, e-procurement, and
legacy systems for its global shared-services processes, enterprise-wide
and over the Internet to include their supply chain partners. The integration
solution, which incorporates IBM's MQSeries, is intended to increase
operating efficiency and decrease the total cost of ownership related
to application interfaces.
Market
Impact
CrossWorlds is attempting to increase their vertical penetration in the
EAI market. This is a smart move that should give them greater penetration
in the EAI space. The hardest part of enterprise application integration
is the inevitable customization that is required by a specific customer
to allow the divergent applications to communicate and realize benefits
from the product. Any steps the vendors can take to reduce the requirement
for customization will be a strong selling point in the market. The addition
of a "component exchange" site, which eases customization efforts even
further, is an additional selling point.
According
to Vas Vasiliadis, vice president of corporate strategy, "What's in our
consultant tool kit we're now making available on our Web site." Software
vendors are often unwilling to do this, considering their consultant's
hard-won experience (which results in the "tool kit"), to be a method
of selling consulting. CrossWorlds' attempt to leverage this information
proactively for the customer is likely to give them some good reference
accounts and increased sales.
User
Recommendations
Customers evaluating Enterprise Application Integration solutions should
include CrossWorlds on their list of potential vendors. CrossWorlds is
a strong privately held company, with funding led by Soros Private Equity
Partners, and individual investors such as Michael Dell, CEO of Dell,
Dave Duffield, CEO of PeopleSoft, John Luongo, CEO of Vantive, and John
Chen, President of Sybase.
In
addition, the Ingersoll-Rand solution that will be developed can likely
be leveraged by other Oracle e-business customers to reduce the time required
to get their EAI solution into production.