Upgrades Help Rein in Business Processes

Software upgrades from three developers—Intersperse Inc., Pegasystems Inc. and Comergent Technologies Inc. —will help companies manage the IT infrastructure that keeps their business processes moving, officials from the companies said.

Intersperse this week will make available Version 2.0 of Intersperse Management Framework Enterprise Edition, which enables IT architects and developers in corporate environments to discover, map, monitor, analyze and control all software components and services related to a business process.

The software does this by keeping tabs on the components through JMXes (Java Managed Extensions), which define operational parameters of the software or service as they relate to the business task they are engaged with. That way, the architect or developer can trouble-shoot and monitor the health of the business process as it runs across several applications rather than simply monitor the health of the network or a single application, said officials at Intersperse, of Pasadena, Calif.

Meanwhile, Pegasystems, of Cambridge, Mass., last week announced the latest version of its business rules engine, PegaRules Process Commander 3.2. This version provides several preconfigured declarative rules that businesspeople can use to build sophisticated decision logic into their business process management applications in order to automate complex workflows, Pegasystems officials said.

Developers and business analysts can use forms and the rules engine to build and modify process flows and complex business logic in order to respond to changing regulatory issues, competitive pressures, new partnerships and other business situations.

Separately, Comergent this week will announce Version 6.3 of its namesake demand chain management suite, which automates business processes.

Version 6.3 includes four new industry solutions with support for business processes unique to the high-tech/microelectronics, industrial, automotive and franchising vertical industries. There are also new applications for Invoices and Auctions in this release. In addition, Comergent, of Redwood City, Calif., is enhancing its C3 Catalog, Pricing and Storefronts applications.

Choice Hotels International Inc. plans to upgrade to Comergent 6.3, according to Brad Douglas, vice president of emerging businesses at the hotel franchiser, based in Silver Springs, Md. Choice runs its ChoiceBuys.com e-procurement site on Comergents software. Douglas said the new industry solution for franchisers supports the business processes behind interactions on the site, making it easier for franchisees to buy from suppliers, including setting up batch purchases. “Comergent understands what it takes to build a successful e-marketplace, all the different ways to put a business and its suppliers together,” said Douglas.