One idea I recently entertained was to examine the possibility of adopting Oracle Fusion Middleware within ebdex Document Exchange for integration with Oracle, PeopleSoft and JD Edwards, as well as using it for such functionality as business rule engine, mobility, etc. It seems I was not the only one having these thoughts.
Recently, Bottomline Technologies announced adopting Oracle Fusion Middleware to enhance the integration with Oracle’s JD Edwards and Oracle E-Business Suite. And they are going after Oracle users (as was the intention of ebdex). Extracts from the announcement:
“Oracle Fusion Middleware integration is a key initiative for Bottomline across all of its document, payments and invoice automation solutions,” said Gareth Priest, Vice President of Global Product Management for Bottomline Technologies. “Support for Oracle Fusion Middleware protects our customer’s investments and enables them to enjoy lower total cost-of-ownership and increased agility as they transition to Oracle’s Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA).”
Oracle Fusion Middleware provides bi-directional integration with any Oracle application or business process via Oracle BPEL Process Manager. The connectivity embraces Web Services to allow any Bottomline software solution to initiate or be part of any business process. This rapid integration enables Bottomline’s advanced document and payments automation capabilities to appear as a link from within Oracle JDeveloper.
“As companies move beyond point-to-point integration, they require an SOA-based middleware platform that enables them to deliver integrated solutions regardless of the underlying application environment or product release,” said John Gawkowski, Vice President, Partner Technology Solutions at Oracle. “Oracle Fusion Middleware represents an integration approach that shares an open and common technology foundation with Oracle applications. This is a key differentiator for Bottomline as they continue to drive customer value from their advanced financial process automation solutions.”
There is a possibility that Bottomline Technologies could snap up all remaining Oracle’s user base as they start to plug into Oracle’s sales and marketing machine. ebdex is too small to respond to this competitively. The question now is what are others doing about this? Are they going to remain silent or join in, creating a buzz in the market place? What do you think?
Tags: Oracle, Bottomline Technologies, Oracle Fusion Middleware, ERP, EIPP