Westbridge enhances Web services management

Web services management software vendor Westbridge Technology on Monday will announce Westbridge XML Message Server (XMS) 3.0, which is focused on deployment of service-oriented architectures (SOA).

The product provides security functions, management, provisioning, versioning, and dynamic routing for XML and Web services, said Andrew Yang, senior director of marketing at Westbridge. Management of the XML data stream is provided, he said.

"XMS is basically a security and management infrastructure solution for XML and Web services," Yang said.

The company describes XMS 3.0 as the premier implementation of the Service Views capability, which enables customers to have reusability and interface control that is key to service-oriented architectures. Westbridge's Yang defines SOAs as a time- and money-saving, component-based IT architecture that enables reuse and deployment of best-of-breed technologies.

Service Views are virtual services composed from one or several different services that can be mixed, matched, and modified by the administrator, according to Westbridge. Additionally, Service Views serve as the logical control point for security, interoperability, monitoring, and business rule enforcement, the company said. Web services can be upgraded to be standards-compliant or interoperable with a service consumer via Service Views.

Other capabilities in Version 3.0 include SmartParser performance improvements for parsing XML messages, auto-validation of messages, "Getting Started" productivity wizards, and integration with additional, existing infrastructure. Team administration enhancements also are featured.

Dynamic routing capabilities in Version 3.0 enable controlling of the routing of XML messages based on rules, such as for failover or security purposes, Yang said.

Support for the OASIS WS-Security specification and SAML is included, as they were in Version 2.0

Ted Schadler, principal analyst at Forrester Research, is impressed with Westbridge.  "Every time I hook up with those guys and hear what's going on, I'm surprised to hear how far along they are," he said.

"What [Westbridge] does is provide an administrative interface, the administrative overlay, if you like, that turns a basic Web service data feed into something you can really use," Schadler said. The product, for example, enables descriptions of data feeds for use by Excel users, or sharing of security profiles with others in a group, he said.

Westbridge views its competitors as Web services management companies such as Amberpoint, Yang said. But Westbridge views its product as being stronger in security than competitors' offerings, he said.

Westbridge on Monday also will announce the availability of XMS Plug-In for Microsoft Excel, which provides users of Microsoft Excel spreadsheets with secure access to XML Web services. Users can browse services and dynamically bind to a standard Web service interface through points and clicks, according to Westbridge.

Communications between Excel and Web services are monitored by Westbridge XMS.

XMS 3.0 and XMS Plug-In for Microsoft Excel are scheduled to ship this quarter. XMS 3.0 will start in price at $35,000. No pricing information is available yet on the Excel plug-in product.