ILOG business rule management system for the Microsoft.Net environment.

ILOG has introduced ILOG Rules for .NET 2.0--the first product in its category to use Microsoft Office Excel 2003 as a tool for developing and managing business rule management applications. Now, with just knowledge of Excel 2003, business users can save time creating and editing business policies in the familiar spreadsheet environment, benefiting from an at-a-glance way of viewing their business rules. In another industry first for the business rule software category, the company also today announced integration between ILOG Rules for.NET, a key offering in ILOG's BRMS product line, and Microsoft BizTalk Server, so users can automate and manage complex business processes across multiple applications. The announcements were made at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference 2005 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Comment

With this latest version, ILOG is adding powerful features and increasing the case of use, which are critical requirements for enterprise developers throughout the world.'

Business Rule Management Systems (BRMS) have become essential elements of IT projects for businesses worldwide because they address the challenges created by faster business cycles and aging software architectures that can't accommodate change quickly enough.

Rules At-a-Glance, Reduced Learning Curve

To complement its existing integration with Microsoft Word, ILOG Rules for.NET now offer business users the option of authoring or editing business rules using decision tables within Excel 2003; or composing textual rules in an "if-Then-Else" language in Microsoft Word, for example "if' a company buys several products and spends more than a specified amount, "then' it will receive a special discount; or 'else' it will pay a standard amount. ILOG Rules for.NET's new decision tables will also facilitate rule sharing between developers and business users via a special web user interface that can alert the key stakeholders in the process when a rule change is made, with collaboration further supported by the products "Rule Team Server for Sharepoint' module.

From the "Rule Studio for.NET" module, developers can leverage Microsoft Visual Studio for rule implementation--allowing them to track changes easier, manage complex rules sets and implement rules faster.

Ruleflow Diagrams

In addition to the decision table features, new support for Ruleflows gives developers a more precise way to orchestrate business rule tasks graphically, allowing them to manipulate decision tables and Ruleflows directly from within their preferred integrated development environment, Visual Studio. Ruleflow diagrams are also viewable over the Web, so business users can use Ruleflow to understand the high-level sequence of execution for more rule applications.

BizTalk Server Integration

ILOG Rules for.NET also marks the first BRMS integration with Microsoft BizTalk Server. Using the two products together, companies empower business users to directly manage large volumes of business rules that are embedded in business processes automated by BizTalk Server. The joint solution is ideal for the insurance, banking and government industries with multifaceted business policies; allowing the business user--not IT--to manage the complex rules sets across multiple business processes.

ILOG Rules for.NET 2.0 will be available later this Autumn. For more information on new product enhancements, please visit http://www.ilog.com/products/rulesnet.