webMethods, a leading business integration and optimization software company, today formally introduced the SOA Master Class Edition of the webMethods Infravio X-Registry as a core component of the online learning experience offered by SOA Master Class Online.

Available as a free download at www.SOAMasterClass.com, the SOA Master Class Edition of the webMethods Infravio X-Registry is a pre-populated and pre-configured version of webMethods’ industry-leading solution for service-oriented architecture (SOA) lifecycle governance.  This version provides practitioners with an immediate, practical and guided introduction to the fundamentals of SOA lifecycle governance.  Due to the inclusion of the most popular Web 2.0 service interfaces, users get hands-on experience using services to create enterprise mashups as part of an overall curriculum on SOA lifecycle governance.

“Most users recognize that effective SOA is about managing the underlying interrelationships between people, processes and technology.  This program addresses their subsequent desire to put these principals into action by getting started with SOA first hand,” said Lance Hill, vice president and general manager of SOA Solutions, webMethods, Inc.  “More specifically, users can take advantage of this downloadable version of our industry-leading governance solution to secure immediate, real-world experience in managing and governing services within a service-oriented architecture.  For the enterprise, this initiative allows them to assess SOA’s value first hand by constructing their own proof-of-concepts and pilot implementations.”

Gartner, Inc. recommends that “[c]ompanies considering or deploying an SOA, or developing projects using Web 2.0 technologies, should begin to examine and understand their need for SOA governance mechanisms. Every company's SOA governance needs will be different (services, processes, organizations and policies greatly differ), but the technologies readily available can greatly reduce the risks associated with an uncontrolled SOA or Web 2.0 deployment.”1

webMethods Infravio X-Registry, SOA Master Class Edition at-a-glance
webMethods Infravio X-Registry (X-Registry) provides enterprises with a mechanism for capturing and institutionalizing the processes needed for managing disparate services throughout their lifecycle and across multiple user groups. This makes available services easier to locate, understand and deploy, while offering greater assurances as to their long-term performance and suitability.  It also provides each SOA stakeholder with a task-based workspace for tracking, enforcing, managing and automating these policies and processes.

As a comprehensive platform for SOA lifecycle governance, X-Registry brings together within a single product a UDDI (Universal Description, Discovery and Integration protocol), v. 3.0 compliant registry for cataloging business services with a JAXR (Java API for XML Registries) compliant repository for maintaining their associated metadata and policies within a user and machine-accessible format. Furthermore, integrated lifecycle governance features ensure that these policies can be effectively applied across design-time, run-time and change-time environments.

To simplify and speed initial deployment, the webMethods Infravio X-Registry, SOA Master Class Edition comes pre-configured with sample metadata, policies, attribute models, and taxonomies. It also ships pre-populated with specific service interfaces and related content for a number of popular, publicly accessible Web services.

The SOA Master Class Edition of the webMethods Infravio X-Registry can be deployed for 45 days of testing and evaluation within a non-production environment.

Specific benefits of webMethods Infravio X-Registry include:

•               Scales SOA across the enterprise – X-Registry more easily facilitates the expansion of SOA across multiple departments, operations and user groups as a means for creating true enterprise-scale SOA.

•               Enhances service visibility – X-Registry provides invaluable insight into service histories, providing users with a richer understanding of their capabilities, performance and dependencies.

•               Manages the entire service lifecycle – Unlike some products, X-Registry addresses the full SOA lifecycle of design-time, run-time and change-time criteria.

•               Maintains architectural standards – X-Registry allows enterprises to validate new services for policy compliance at creation and automatically defines approval processes.

•               Enforces security procedures – With X-Registry, configurable controls limit access to sensitive or confidential material or resources regardless of where the service is invoked or maintained.

•               Strengthens external partnerships – By securely extending SOA lifecycle governance beyond the firewall, X-Registry helps external trading partners and customers more easily leverage existing services as a means for extending critical business relationships.

•               Establishes cross-enterprise governance processes – X-Registry enables diverse stakeholder groups to participate in the lifecycle events associated with policies and services, including collaboration, approval and notification.