Stories about: Plumtree Software

IBM, Microsoft and SAP are taking a charge at the business Web 2.0 market, but the big vendors still lag behind smaller rivals who have developed far more innovative technology with quicker release cycles, according to a Forrester analyst.

BEA Systems has unveiled plans to enter the market for people-based business process management for the first time, with a new version of a tool that will allow companies to build and manage collaborative business processes.

Robb Chapman, an IT specialist at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, discovered how complicated the choice of a collaboration tool can be when he became involved in the CDC's effort to purchase software that would let researchers work more effectively with universities and state health agencies. The options proved so numerous that the agency hired an outside consultant to sort through all the candidates -- an effort that took six months.

BEA Systems last week unveiled a two-year road map for combining its WebLogic Portal with similar software it gained with the acquisition of Plumtree Software in October.

Plumtree Software this week began rolling out a major new version of its portal software product line, including new bundling options, broader platform support and a new stand-alone product the company intends as the first in a line of customized industry applications.

No company is more bullish on SOA than BEA. The problem is that BEA's WebLogic application server -- long the company's flagship product -- is really a Java platform, whereas an SOA is supposed to maintain platform neutrality. Hence BEA's platform-agnostic AquaLogic middleware, which shipped in early August, and BEA's surprise acquisition last week of Plumtree Software.

As it prepares to consummate its merger with BEA Systems, Plumtree Software is going ahead with plans to launch a major new version of its portal software at its user conference next month.

BEA Systems wants a bigger slice of the portal market and has announced its intention to purchase portal vendor Plumtree Software for $263 million ($US200 million) to take it there.

BEA Systems has agreed to buy portal software maker, Plumtree Software, for about $US200 million in cash. The deal finally removes from the market a struggling company analysts long expected to be bought by a larger vendor, and adds to BEA's portfolio a new line of collaboration software.

Plumtree Software further extended its portal-based, Web applications building and management platform Monday, announcing upgrades to its Content and Collaboration servers, APIs for search and collaboration, and support and services for J2EE and .Net platforms.

Plumtree Software has appointed Dean Stockwell as general manager for the company's Asia-Pacific operations.