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Brunswick Corp., a company that makes bowling balls, boats and billiards, is also in the technology game. WDI, the development division of Brunswick New Technologies, on Monday announced the release of Redberri 6.0, middleware geared toward helping companies establish service-oriented integration platforms.
Redberri connects with legacy systems and converts data from one format to another for better communication along the supply chain. Originally slated as an open-source project within Brunswick for supply chain and dealer integration, Redberri underwent a lengthy development cycle—hence its 6.0 version number—that eventually included new functionality for commercial use.
What Redberri does is take incoming data from outside applications or other sources and pass it on to a companys internal systems for processing in its native format. Responses and other required outgoing actions are then translated back into the native format the outside sources use, for use in those systems. The result is a loose coupling of information that follows a service-oriented model, officials said.
A Map Builder capability provides a GUI that enables users to depict relationships between external and internal systems. What the company refers to as simple connectors enable users to map the relationship between their purchase order software and a partners purchase order processing system. Once the mappings are complete, Redberri generates the code to perform the depicted task, officials said.
Redberri 6.0 also comes with its own source code, enabling users to make changes to the basic product for added functionality. Itself a componentized offering, users also have the ability to license specific components or functionality, separately or as a combined unit, rather than taking on the whole platform.
Brunswick New Technologies, the software arm of Brunswick that houses WDI, has a couple of other tech ventures underway including Navman, which makes products based on the Global Positioning System; Northstar Technologies Inc., which makes navigational systems; Integrated Dealer Systems, which develops marine dealer management systems; and Mototron, which designs engine control and vehicle networking systems.
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