Infrastructure resource optimization software maker Peregrine Systems Inc. is once again changing its stripes.
Originally a help desk software vendor and later a developer of business-to-business relationship management software, Peregrine is now adding EAI (enterprise application integration) to its offerings.
San Diego-based Peregrine today introduced it Business Integration Suite, or BIS, which provides EAI functionality at a price considerably less than the competitions. Peregrines BIS software lists for about $150,000 for the full suite, which can be installed as enterprise software, or hosted by Peregrine.
The suite covers three areas: traditional EAI, B2B integration and procurement integration.
In terms of traditional EAI functionalities, the suite provides an Integration Broker as well as business process management adapters, data transformation messaging and transport capabilities, officials said.
On the B2B front, the integration broker is extended to connect and maintain key business processes out to partners and suppliers using Extensible Markup Language and Electronic Data Interchange formats.
For procurement integration, BIS provides out-of-the box connection to Peregrines proprietary Get Connected Network, which hosts approximately 40,000 connections and runs about 7 million procurement transactions a week — the bulk of which is direct procurement and invoicing.
In the past Peregrine has done some B2B integration, but this new offering vaults the company into the internal integration market. It also pits Peregrine against some mighty competitors, including traditional EAI software developers webMethods Inc., Tibco Inc., Vitria Technology Inc. and SeeBeyond Technology Corp.
Peregrine also is likely to see some stiff competition from IBM, which last week enhanced its software integration story with the purchase of business process integration company CrossWorlds Software Inc. While IBM currently uses Peregrines technology in its application server, officials there announced intentions to bundle the CrossWorlds technology with IBMs webSphere integration capabilities by the second half of 2002, to provide an integrated application and software integration server.