BEA Systems, Inc. announced details on BEA WebLogic Collaborate, including an accelerated date for general availability. BEA WebLogic Collaborate is scheduled to be available to additional customers as a Beta release in July, and is scheduled to ship as a generally available product with full functionality in the fall of 2000. Announced in November 1999 under the code name “Project E-Collaborate,” BEA WebLogic Collaborate is B2B integration software that provides an open, scalable and dynamic way to rapidly create and manage multi-party trading exchanges, Internet e-markets and supply chain process switches. BEA WebLogic Collaborate is built on BEA’s BEA WebLogic Server platform to manage the large volume of B2B transactions and processes that e-markets and process switches must coordinate, and is fully compliant with Java J2EE, XML, RosettaNet and other emerging standards to provide a powerful, standards-based platform for rapidly integrating with customers, partners and suppliers. BEA WebLogic Collaborate allows companies to model and simultaneously coordinate the diverse range of complex interactions that must be managed in B2B settings. Comprised of an XML collaboration hub, downloadable access enablers, and administrative management tools, BEA WebLogic Collaborate is bundled with BEA’s recently announced BEA WebLogic Process Integrator, a full Java process flow engine. BEA WebLogic Process Integrator supports decentralized, centralized, and hierarchical workflow models, so complex trading processes specific to individuals or groups of participants as well as shared business processes can be coordinated by BEA WebLogic Collaborate’s interaction management layer as business transactions. BEA WebLogic Collaborate uses a complete set of X.509 digital certification, SSL and PKCS7 access controls to deliver a secure, standards-based B2B e-market environment. BEA WebLogic Collaborate’s enhanced publish and subscribe messaging supports sender, receiver and content filters to provide an ability to manage the flow of trading exchanges. Implemented in Java, the product supports Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and XML to capture systematic — as well as dynamic — trading partner relationships and leverage IT investments in existing systems and programming skill sets. www.beasys.com