Ulla Popken Uses JNBridge JMS Adapter for BizTalk Server to Integrate Muliple JMS Servers with BizTalk

JNBridge JMS Adapter for BizTalk Server allowed fashion retailer to quickly integrate disparate platforms and focus on automating business processes

Boulder, Colorado, September 19, 2010

JNBridge, (www.jnbridge.com), the award-winning provider of Java and .NET Framework-based interoperability tools, today announced that Ulla Popken GmbH (www.ullapopken.de), a German-based retail fashion supplier, selected JNBridge’s JMS Adapter for BizTalk Server to integrate multiple existing JMS implementations with BizTalk. Since using the adapter, the company has been able to move into production rapidly, without the time and cost associated with internal development.

Ulla Popken fashion allows all women the opportunity to develop their own style — regardless of size. With the theme “fashion that suits me,” the Ulla Popken label presents its customers with a changing collection every month. As a multi-channel business, Ulla Popken sells in more than 300 stores, by mail-order and internet, and with the help of selected franchise partners in Europe and non-European countries, and also with shop-in-shop partners.

To integrate applications, automate business processes, and improve business responsiveness and agility, Ulla Popken GmbH made a strategic decision to focus its IT development efforts on Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE) applications that rely on Java Message Service (JMS). Central to the company’s IT infrastructure is Microsoft BizTalk Server, which supports enterprise application integration services, business process management, and interoperability between Java EE and .NET applications. To deploy Java EE applications that expose functionality and services via JMS messaging, IT developers needed a way to implement reliable communications with BizTalk Server. Within the company’s application portfolio, several core business applications required specific Java EE and JMS servers — each with its own JMS implementation. For example, the mail order system relied on IBM WebSphere. In addition, other applications used Progress SonicMQ and GlassFish (an open source application server) as the JMS provider. Ulla Popken therefore needed a way to facilitate durable asynchronous messaging from Microsoft BizTalk Server to three different JMS implementations — WebSphere, SonicMQ, and GlassFish.

“We needed a way to integrate these JMS technologies and intercommunicate with our BizTalk Server,” recalled Ralf Quebbemann, technology consultant at Ulla Popken GmbH. “If we tried to do this ourselves, it would have been a significant development effort that would have taken months — if not years — to complete.”

Looking for a solution that involved less cost and resulted in faster deployment, developers researched available Java and .NET interoperability solutions and learned about the JNBridge JMS Adapter for BizTalk Server. Since the adapter is designed to work with any JMS implementation, it was, as Quebbemann described, “perfect for our needs.”

The JNBridge JMS Adapter for BizTalk Server encapsulates JMS client capabilities into a standard BizTalk Server adapter. For each different JMS implementation that Ulla Popken employs, the adapter is configured as endpoints specifically bound to send and receive ports, allowing a BizTalk orchestration to produce and consume messages to and from JMS queues and topics.

“While Ulla Popken’s use of three different JMS servers in their architecture may be unusual, our JMS Adapter for BizTalk Server is designed to work with any JMS implementation,” said Wayne Citrin, CTO of JNBridge. “The adapter enabled Ulla Popken to quickly integrate their disparate JMS services into an infrastructure based around BizTalk Server.”

Ulla Popken experienced these benefits in using the adapter:

• Flexibility. With a single product from JNBridge, developers integrated all three JMS implementations with BizTalk and quickly solved the challenge of intercommunication.
• Simplicity, ease-of-use, and full support. Developers were able to easily configure the adapter for each JMS server. When they encountered problems that they couldn’t resolve on their own, JNBridge engineers were quick to respond.
• Fast integration. Since Ulla Popken developers selected JNBridge’s commercially available JMS Adapter for BizTalk Server, they were able to move into production rapidly, without the time and cost associated with internal development.
• Throughput and stability. In production the adapter supported solid performance and reliable messaging. “The adapter worked just as we expected,” Quebbemann remarked. “The product was very stable, provided good throughput, and delivered reliable messaging for our full spectrum of JMS applications.”

For more information on the JMS Adapter for BizTalk Server and JNBridge’s other interoperability products, please visit: (www.jnbridge.com). For information about Ulla Popken GmbH please visit: (www.ullapopken.de).

About JNBridge

JNBridge connects Java and .NET Framework-based components and applications together with tools and adapters that are fast, simple to use and remove the complexities of cross-platform interoperability. JNBridge is a privately-held company based in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 2001, JNBridge has over 400 unique customers in 40 countries that use JNBridge’s award-winning solutions in a wide variety of applications in financial services, insurance, media, manufacturing and other industries. Please visit www.jnbridge.com for more information.