Introduction
This review offers an overview of the current
ebXML marketplace and the solutions available. The items listed in this review fall into four broad categories. The first category, and by far the most visible, covers the enterprise integration solution vendors who
support ebXML based messaging transport in their products. Potentially
these vendors can also support ebXML BPSS in their business process execution
solutions, or at least a hybrid approach with their own execution engine as the
implementation layer.
The second category includes the traditional EDI-style integration
point solution providers that market messaging service products, either as a
network service provider, or as a stand-alone messaging tool set for exchanging ebXML-based messages. These tools focus primarily on ebMS
messaging services as their core functions, augmented with transaction content
transformation and assembly capabilities.
The third category is ebXML registry solution providers.
These again fall into two categories, those delivering a
pure-play ebXML registry infrastructure product, or those connecting from an existing repository management system, either for
documents or programming related components, via ebXML registry-compatible
interfaces. These two then fall into two further sub-categories, either the
registry can be focused on e-business applications such as catalogues
of components, business documents, definitions and XML related content, or
those solutions that focus on modelling support with semantic content and
document / information search and discovery being the primary role.
The remaining category is pure modelling tools that provide the
ability to manage business processes and artifacts relating to ebXML
implementations using a model-driven approach.
The level of implementation of ebXML features clearly
depends on the primary focus of the vendor and their target marketplace, along
with the needs of their customers. The following tables provide a guide to
this landscape and the available solutions within it. This document is only
intended to be a jumping off point from which a more formal evaluation of
requirements and suitability to task can take place.
Note that included in this review are open source solutions that
are community supported along with solutions developed by government projects
that are only available for use in that government arena.