The end of the beginning of Level 8 Systems Inc’s metamorphosis from a messaging company to Enterprise Application Integration vendor was announced today, with the global launch of the Geneva Integration Server.
Geneva is the first product released by the firm since it rebranded itself as an EAI vendor two weeks ago, following $25m 1998 losses, and is being hyped by Level 8 as primarily an integration platform to web-enable legacy systems and build e-commerce applications. The company says it is a standards-based EAI platform with a definite Microsoft orientation, running under the auspices of Microsoft Transaction Server, to allow scalability.
The software engine itself is a collection of customizable COM objects, Corba compatibility soon to be provided with Corba ‘wrappers’ for these components. Adapters for MSMQ, XML, HTTP, MQSeries, LU62 and L8’s own Falcon messaging standards are provided in the package. Application adapters for SAP, Peoplesoft and Siebel products will be available shortly. L8 also says Geneva will eventually support MS’s recently announced BizTalk.
The product will be formally launched today, but the company says the untitled software has been in use at various US firms for over a year. The software was developed as a by-product of L8’s consulting business, which the firm now intends to gradually sideline as it moves towards software. Last year the company acquired Seer Technologies Ltd and Momentum Software Corp in an effort to increase its technology base. With Seer, L8 received an international presence, which it hopes to exploit with the launch of Geneva.
