Guild Companies

Sterling Commerce is planning to give away its new Gentran Integration Suite to current users of its EDI (electronic data interchange) software for Windows, Unix, OS/400 and OS/390, the Columbus, Ohio, company has announced. Gentran:Server users under maintenance agreements will qualify to receive the base version of Gentran Integration Suite as a free upgrade, and will be given the option to purchase additional functionality, such as business process management and enterprise application integration modules.

The free maintenance upgrade version of the new Gentran Integration Suite includes enhancements to Gentran:Server, such as improved document tracking and thin-client administration. The additional options customers may elect to purchase separately include Web services integration, an integration broker, business process management, real-time cross-application event monitoring, integrated human workflow, partner self-service, and support for B2B protocols such as ebXML, EDI-INT, RosettaNet, and UCCNet.

Running inside the Gentran Integration Suite, you will find Sterling Integrator, the Java-based integration broker that Sterling released late last year, which currently only runs on Unix operating systems. The business process engine underlying Sterling Integrator executes business process transactions that have been modeled using Business Process Modeling Language, or BPML, a young XML language first specified by the Business Process Management Initiative last year. BPMI says its goal is to do for business process management systems what SQL did for relational database systems.

Sterling, which is a subsidiary of SBC Communications, has been shaking up its product line lately. Last August, the company announced Sterling Integrator, which is also part of the new Gentran Integration Suite, and in October it announced a new business-process modeling tool called Workflow Manager that is designed to work with EDI software.

Sterling Commerce is taking a modular approach to rolling out software that complements its established EDI software. Gentran:Server users will get some benefit out of the free, base version of Gentran Integration Suite. But users who are serious about adapting their established EDI infrastructures to the new Internet standards that are being created will need the for-pay portion of the new suite. Considering the low IT spending that continues to affect the market, and the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" attitude that seems to pervade the EDI space, this style of product rollout may be just the ticket to get companies interested.

Gentran Integration Suite initially will be available in September for the Gentran:Server Unix platform. The integration suite for other versions of Gentran:Server will follow within 12 months, the company says. Sterling claims it's the only company offering an integration broker positioned to run on all major operating systems. For more information, visit the company's Web site, at www.sterlingcommerce.com .