The OpenEAI Software Foundation, a non-profit corporation organized to develop and promote open source enterprise application integration, today announced the general availability of the OpenEAI 4.0 Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) Development Platform, Software Utilities, and Sample Enterprise 2.0. Targeted primarily to educational institutions and other enterprises, OpenEAI 4.0 provides an open source architectural framework and development platform that includes a comprehensive of set of software APIs, utilities, reference implementations, and other administrative tools designed to enable mission critical data integration between enterprise applications.

The OpenEAI Sample Enterprise 2.0 includes the OpenEAI ESB 4.0 along with a pre-developed set of gateways and open source applications packaged to provide immediate functionality and a ready-made environment for testing, prototyping, and pre-deployment evaluation. Sample Enterprise applications include uPortal, Sakai, CAS (Centralized Authentication Service), and generic ERP systems among others. Both OpenEAI 4.0 and Sample Enterprise 2.0 are available for immediate download from: www.OpenEAI.org. And, there are numerous product demonstrations available for viewing at the site as well.

"Our latest ESB version 4.0 and software represents a new and higher level of functionality, reliability, and usability for allowing organizations and companies to quickly integrate enterprise applications," stated Tod Jackson, President of the OpenEAI Software Foundation. "We're especially thankful to our institutional and commercial partners for contributing their valuable resources and knowledge to keep moving the OpenEAI Project forward and growing the community."

"For open source applications and technology to be truly effective and implemented on a broad scale in higher education, enterprise application integration between mission critical applications and other systems is an essential requirement," said Jonathan Markow, Chairman of the JA-SIG (Java Architectures Special Interest Group) Board of Directors. "The OpenEAI ESB is based on proven technology and provides the architectural framework, tools, and open source environment needed for higher education to effectively integrate their applications."