Active Endpoints Announces Open Source BPEL Initiative; Forms ActiveBPEL, LLC to Provide First Commercial-grade BPEL Engine Technology to the Open Source Community.

SHELTON, Conn. -- Active Endpoints, Inc., a leading independent provider of services-oriented integration solutions, today announced the formation of ActiveBPEL, LLC, an open source organization intended to promote industry interest, education and development around the BPEL (Business Process Execution Language) standard. Active Endpoints has licensed the entire code base of its ActiveBPEL(TM) engine to ActiveBPEL, LLC, making it the first commercial-grade BPEL technology available to the open source community. The ActiveBPEL engine is a robust runtime environment for executing processes based on the BPEL4WS 1.1 specification, and is a pivotal technology in Active Endpoints' forthcoming ActiveWebflow(TM) product family (see related press release entitled "Active Endpoints Announces Beta for ActiveWebflow").

The primary objective of ActiveBPEL, LLC is to accelerate the use of BPEL across the extended IT community. Specific organization goals include:

--Providing users and organizations with free software for experimentation and prototyping

--Establishing an active community of BPEL enthusiasts

--Supporting horizontal and vertical technology innovation around BPEL

--Allowing systems integrators to develop BPEL methodologies and best practices

--Encouraging other open source projects to use BPEL in their technologies

--Improving the quality and richness of the ActiveBPEL code base through community contributions

"IT organizations, ISVs and systems integrators all benefit from access to high quality, free implementations of advanced technologies," said Dan Sholler, vice president and director of Technology Research Services at META Group, a leading provider of IT research, advisory services, and strategic consulting. "Increasing acceptance of open source technologies explains why they are becoming a popular foundation for learning and experimentation within the IT community."

ActiveBPEL Engine - Commercial-grade Open Source.

The ActiveBPEL engine is a comprehensive technology for executing BPEL processes. Key features of the ActiveBPEL engine include:

--Compact Footprint. The ActiveBPEL engine is a compact Java runtime environment that can run with popular Web/application servers. BPEL 1.1 process definitions can be easily deployed to the engine via file-based deployment descriptors.

--Robust BPEL Support. The ActiveBPEL engine supports all of the BPEL 1.1 processing constructs, including complex scoping and compensation management. The engine will be continually upgraded to support future versions of the BPEL standard as those versions are released from the OASIS(TM) standards organization.

--Advanced Capabilities. The ActiveBPEL engine goes beyond the BPEL specification to provide advanced features such as static analysis, process persistence and process versioning:

--Static analysis provides comprehensive, deployment-time validation of BPEL process definitions.

--Process persistence allows ActiveBPEL processes to be automatically resumed after an engine shutdown by maintaining all process state information.

--Process versioning permits new versions of a process to be "hot" deployed, without affecting the state of in-flight process instances.

--Extensibility. In addition to the ActiveBPEL engine's browser-based management console, developers can also integrate their applications with the engine through a robust collection of event and administrative APIs. These APIs are conveniently exposed via Web services to facilitate integration.

Dual-licensing Options for Maximum Flexibility.

The ActiveBPEL engine is licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL) and supported via the Community Support Forums at www.activebpel.org. Organizations developing technologies that will be distributed under the GPL may incorporate and redistribute the ActiveBPEL engine royalty free. Organizations that need BPEL technology for internal use only (i.e. not for external distribution) may also use the ActiveBPEL engine free of charge. Organizations that require product level technical support and/or wish to redistribute the ActiveBPEL engine as part of their closed source solutions can obtain a commercial license from Active Endpoints, Inc.

Availability.

The ActiveBPEL engine is available for immediate download at www.activebpel.org. Users who register on the site will qualify for community benefits such as forum support, email notifications, and access to the ActiveBPEL community knowledgebase. Licensing details and code contribution procedures are also available on the site. Additional information about ActiveBPEL, LLC or the ActiveBPEL engine can be obtained by sending an email to [e-mail].

About ActiveBPEL, LLC.

ActiveBPEL, LLC, an operating subsidiary of Active Endpoints, Inc., is chartered with licensing and distributing the ActiveBPEL engine. The ActiveBPEL engine is a robust runtime environment that is capable of executing process definitions created to the Business Process Execution Language for Web Services specifications. The ActiveBPEL engine is developed and maintained by Active Endpoints, Inc., which also uses the ActiveBPEL engine in its ActiveWebflow(TM) commercial products. Active Endpoints created ActiveBPEL, LLC because the Company believes that the open source model is an effective means through which to foster community interest, education and development around BPEL.

About Active Endpoints, Inc.

As a leading independent provider of services-oriented integration software, Active Endpoints delivers a comprehensive suite of business and systems integration products. Unlike first-generation EAI, EDI and B2B integration companies, Active Endpoints' solutions are fundamentally designed for use in services-oriented computing applications, particularly those based on Web services. The ActiveIntegration(TM) suite allows customers to achieve rapid, quantifiable ROI by linking business processes, enterprise and legacy applications, databases, Web services, and human workflows both within and across enterprises. Through this seamless integration, Active Endpoints' customers can reduce costs, develop new revenue opportunities, strengthen relationships with customers and partners, substantially increase supply chain efficiencies, and streamline internal business processes.

ActiveWebflow and ActiveIntegration are trademarks of Active Endpoints, Inc. ActiveBPEL is a trademark of ActiveBPEL, LLC. All other company and product names are the property of their respective owners.