Open source software maker Jitterbit this week is expected to unveil its first products, which are aimed at helping small and midsize businesses tackle application integration projects without the cost and complexity associated with top-of-the-line integration engines.
Jitterbit’s software is geared for moderately complex projects, such as point-to-point integration, flat file exchange or database synchronization. For projects such as these, many SMBs balk at the cost of a fully loaded integration platform from vendors such as IBM, Tibco and webMethods. Instead they resort to custom-coding links between systems, says Sharam Sasson, president and CEO of Jitterbit. The company offers a simple alternative that doesn’t require custom coding, he says.
Two versions are available. Companies can download Jitterbit Community Edition 1.0 for free. Jitterbit Professional Edition 1.0 costs $10,000 per server, per year, and includes product support, maintenance, training and development services. Both versions run on Windows and Linux and support transport protocols including Secure-HTTP, FTP, Simple Object Access Protocol and Open Database Connectivity.
Connection information – such as data types – is stored in a metadata repository, which documents relationships between components being tied together. These integration profiles can be saved as Jitterpaks – the vendor’s name for predefined integration packages that users can share with colleagues, business partners and the Jitterbit community. A Jitterpak might detail connections to an online marketplace such as Amazon.com, or a CRM application such as Salesforce.com, for example, to give companies a head start building links to these systems.
Privately held Jitterbit has 10 employees. It’s self-funded so far, says Sasson, who founded the company in December 2003. Sasson previously founded Extensity, which makes financial performance management software (and today is a Golden Gate Capital company). He also co-founded CRM vendor Scopus Technology in 1991.
Among Jitterbit’s early customers are surgical garment manufacturer Marena Group in Lawrenceville, Ga., which uses Jitterbit to bring product orders received from partner systems into its own ERP system; and real estate investment trust General Growth Properties in Chicago, which uses the software to link its ERP system with bank systems and other data sources.
Jitterbit isn’t the only vendor eyeing the integration middle ground. Cast Iron Systems earlier this month released two versions of its integration appliances, which also are designed for projects that require simple application connections and data transformations. Cast Iron offers lease pricing for its iA3000 appliances starting at $4,000 per month.
