Managing Composite Applications

One of the biggest opportunities that IT has to add value is to build composite applications that unify multiple business processes.

Although not easy to build, these applications, generally known as the enterprise equivalent of a mashup, usually provide the business with a unique competitive edge.

But not only are these applications difficult to build because they usually span multiple levels of business and IT expertise, they are notoriously difficult to manage.
To address this latter issue, AmberPoint has announced that its namesake management system for composite applications now directly supports multiple business process management (BPM) systems, including Oracle BPEL Process Manager, Oracle WebLogic Integration, Microsoft BizTalk Server and TIBCO BusinessWorks. While support for other process engines will be forthcoming, AmberPoint can also be integrated with other custom and commercial BPM systems using its Transaction Visibility Toolkit. The company also added full suport for managing Oracle applications.

Composite applications are critical when it comes to bridging the gap between IT and the business because they allow IT organizations to create applications that reflect an end-to-end business process, rather than just conforming to the capabilities of a packaged application. This is why BPM and composite applications are expected to be one of the fastest growing segments of enterprise IT.

But in order for composite applications to be successfully developed, the people creating these applications need to understand the business intimately and then be able to manage these applications effectively on an ongoing basis.

AmberPoint doesn’t solve the first problem, but once built, it does promise to make managing composite applications a whole lot easier.