Integration software developers are preparing upgrades to their middleware offerings, which are focused on improved business-process functionality tempered with ease of use.

IBM, TIBCO Software Inc., Jacada Ltd. and others unveil their new wares at Gartner Inc.'s Application Integration and Web Services Summit in Los Angeles this week.

IBM, of Armonk, N.Y., is announcing Version 6.0 of its WebSphere MQ messaging software, which provides the foundation for developing an enterprise service bus—the backbone of an SOA (service-oriented architecture)—from a single Eclipse-based workbench. At the same time, the company plans to release a new version of its WebSphere Business Integration Server Express for SMBs (small and midsize businesses) looking for scaled-down integration capabilities.

TIBCO, based in Palo Alto, Calif., will release a new platform, TIBCO BusinessEvents, which processes complex events to proactively identify and respond to potential threats—or opportunities— that are happening on an ongoing basis across a company's IT environment.