Built in Java, the server handles data mapping, transformation and routing, key functions needed to prepare data for transmission between diverse apps, according to sources familiar with Oracle's plans. In a related development, Oracle next week will introduce a free version of the Oracle XML Developers Kit it has been using internally to access XML features of the Oracle8i database and Oracle Application Server, according to the company. The integration server runs atop Oracle Advanced Queuing, the vendor's little-deployed messaging middleware product. The server also includes a business process automation engine, whereby customers can use Unified Modeling Language tools like Rational Software's ROSE to create business logic for coordinating application messages within or between organizations. Such a product could be used by a retailer, for instance, to exchange XML-based inventory data with one of its manufacturers.
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One user of Oracle8i, the latest iteration of the company's flagship database, speculated where the EAI server might fit in his shop. Despite the promise, Oracle's XML integration server will enter a crowded market. First, there are XML pioneers, including WebMethods, CrossWorlds, Vitra and Extricity. Then there is IBM, which has added XML support to its market-leading MQSeries messaging middleware, and Microsoft, which has introduced the BizTalk XML server. Oracle sees IBM, Microsoft, even SAP with cross-enterprise integration stories.