Open Source Jitterbit 1.1 Features More Web Services, LDAP Support

Open-source company Jitterbit Monday unveiled version 1.1 of its application integration software adding in support for Web services publishing and lightweight directory access protocol (LDAP).

The Jitterbit integration software aims to make it easier and cheaper for less technically savvy users to connect applications and data from different sources, according to Sharam Sasson, cofounder, president and chief executive officer of Jitterbit.

With the additional Web services capability, Jitterbit users will now be able to securely publish and share Web services within or outside of their own organizations. The new LDAP support will help users integrate their applications with corporate directory services, for instance, to ensure the consistency of employee data throughout their organizations, said Ilan Sehayek, cofounder and chief technology officer at Jitterbit. That capability becomes particularly important to ensure that as soon as staff leave a company, their network rights are immediately revoked, he added.

Although Jitterbit 1.1 became available for download from the vendor’s website earlier this month, Monday marked the official release of the software.

Other new functionality includes support for Web services cookies and the ability to encrypt Jitterpaks, Jitterbit’s name for prepackaged integrations. That feature will enable systems integrators to secure the integration they’ve done with encrypted passwords so they have the option of keeping that work proprietary.

Jitterbit 1.1 supports Red Hat’s Fedora Core and Enterprise Linux distributions and has added in support for Novell’s Suse Linux after a customer created a Suse installation. After receiving many user requests to also support the Debian and Ubuntu distribution, Jitterbit hopes to provide that support in future versions of its software, Sehayek said.

Looking ahead, Jitterbit 1.2 due out in September will include e-mail support, he added.

So far, Jitterbit isn’t going head to head with IBM, Tibco Software and WebMethods, the enterprise titans of the integration arena, Sasson said. Instead, since releasing Jitterbit 1.0 in May, the vendor has focused on the integration needs of mid-market users of hosted application providers like NetSuite, Salesforce.com and SugarCRM.

Although he didn’t completely rule out the possibility, Sasson doesn’t believe buying Jitterbit would make sense for one of the on-demand players. Salesforce.com has recently started on the acquisition trail, already picking up two of its partners, Sendia and Kieden, this year.

Jitterbit offers two versions of its software, a free community release as well as a professional edition that includes phone and e-mail support, training and consulting services with annual subscription starting at US$9,995.

While Jitterbit doesn’t publicly reveal the number of companies paying for its software, there have been 10,000 downloads of the open-source version of its product, Sasson said. The downloads have come from all over the world, and Jitterbit is already in discussions with distributors in Germany, Ireland and Japan who are keen to work with the company, he said.

Privately held with an office in Alameda, Calif., Jitterbit has 10 employees and is self-funded. Once the company feels secure that its business model is proven, then it may look for external funding, Sasson said.

-China Martens, IDG News Service (Boston Bureau)

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