IONA Technologies announced that Passenger has selected IONA to support its deployment of Apache ActiveMQ, the Open Source JMS-compliant messaging and integration platform. Passenger will deploy IONA’s FUSE Message Broker, which is IONA’s tested, certified and supported version of ActiveMQ, to deliver service-oriented integration for Passenger’s customer collaboration platform.

Passenger’s customer collaboration platform is a Web-based platform that offers clients private community forums based on the concepts of social networking. Clients can establish online private brand communities to facilitate communications between the company and their customers. The platform is delivered in a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, enabling easier feature enhancements and customization. Due to the high degree of customization that Passenger offers its customers, the company required an SOA integration infrastructure. Passenger evaluated both commercially licensed and Open Source options and selected ActiveMQ as the preferred solution.

“We take a best of breed approach to technology,” said Bill Parducci, CTO, Passenger. “We quickly established that ActiveMQ was the best technology on the market for SOA enablement based on a messaging infrastructure, particularly as our solution is offered over the Web using the SaaS delivery model. However, because it was critically important for us to have enterprise-level service and support for a successful roll-out, we required a solution with a first class support structure. IONA provided us with the ability to take the best technology on the market in the form of ActiveMQ and confidently deploy a tested and certified version of that technology together with the required level of enterprise consultancy and support with FUSE Message Broker.”

FUSE is IONA’s tested and certified Open Source product family based on projects hosted by the Apache Software Foundation. IONA provides professional support, consulting and training for enterprise customers looking to deploy Open Source SOA technology in mission-critical business applications. While the FUSE Message Broker provides the fundamental infrastructure for Passenger’s SOA infrastructure, the company has adopted additional Open Source products from IONA’s FUSE product family to extend and enhance its SOA capabilities. As with FUSE Message Broker, each of these products is a certified, tested and fully supported release of a technology developed at the Apache Software Foundation. Passenger uses the FUSE Services Framework, based on Apache CXF, to enable web services and FUSE Mediation Router, based on Apache Camel, to easily implement messaging patterns.

“A robust, enterprise-scale production and support infrastructure was key to our decision to adopt Open Source technology,” explained Bill Parducci. “IONA’s professional services team is truly first class and from our first engagement we knew the team had the experience with the technology and were highly skilled in the delivery of mission-critical consultancy and support to Global 2000 customers. The IONA team did more than address basic configuration questions for ActiveMQ. They understood our requirements and helped to set the direction for our architecture. They introduced us to valuable features and capabilities of the technology that we would not have been aware of, had we decided to deploy ActiveMQ without their assistance. Yes, they provide 24x7 production support, and we do require that, but there is also great value in IONA’s ability to apply its breadth of experience in integration architecture and depth of technical product knowledge to our specific requirements.”

“We’re delighted to be selected by Passenger in the roll-out of their Open Source based SOA infrastructure,” said Larry Alston, Vice President and General Manager Open Source, IONA Technologies. “Robust technology alone is not enough, enterprise customers require a complete solution, and that means it must be backed-up by the right level of enterprise service and support, technical expertise and deep industry experience. Passenger is a clear example of the kind of support companies are looking for in their evaluation and adoption of Open Source technology.”

Further information on IONA FUSE is available at the FUSE community Web site at http://open.iona.com.