Backbase Introduces Enterprise Ajax 4, New Browser-Based Application Server for Rich Internet Applications

September 25, 2007; 05:35 AM

AjaxWorld 2007, Santa Clara, California, September 24th, 2007--Today, Backbase, The Ajax Company^TM, introduced Enterprise Ajax 4, a superior Ajax framework for the enterprise. Backbase Enterprise Ajax 4 answers enterprise customers’ biggest concerns when developing applications using Ajax technologies. Among these concerns are:

• Browsers from different vendors create incompatibilities - demanding ever more lines of code and multiplying maintenance challenges
• Wiring different widgets together forces developers to create more custom JavaScript code - further increasing maintenance burdens
• Widgets and components from different vendors or projects do not work together
• Application owners need more advanced Ajax/RIA features that are difficult to create with custom JavaScript - resulting in hard-to-manage “JavaScript Spaghetti” code
• The snippet and widget approach of most toolkits lacks structure for governance and reuse of UI elements across multiple applications or development teams - reducing productivity as IT staff must constantly “reinvent the wheel” building Ajax "plumbing"
• Compliance with ever-increasing industry and government standards is time- and resource- intensive for application developers

To address these concerns and help increase the adoption of Ajax within the enterprise, Backbase developed Enterprise Ajax 4, a comprehensive and complete solution that incorporates a proven Ajax framework with comprehensive, enterprise-class development tools. Backbase studied carefully how application servers addressed many of the issues related to servicing applications from a server and how they successfully included many of the fundamental services an application required. In a very similar way, Backbase designed its new framework to address issues related to Ajax applications running in a browser and includes many of the fundamental services required within its framework,

Backbase Enterprise Ajax 4 offers all the Ajax “plumbing” a developer needs right out of the box. The runtime inherently supports the leading browsers including Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla, Firefox, Netscape, Camino, Safari, and Opera. "Developing rich user interfaces for our Web applications required that we create code to support the many different browsers our users might use. It also required that we create a lot of core functionality outside our business logic," said Patrick Flaton from KPN, a leading telecommunication company. "Backbase Enterprise Ajax 4 framework brought all that functionality built-in, so we could focus our development on the specifics of our application and go to market faster."

“Developers can safely focus on developing widgets or applications knowing that the Backbase runtime will automatically take care of browser compatibility issues,” said Jouk Pleiter, CEO of Backbase. “It facilitates smart code reuse practices with an architecture based on reusable object oriented patterns and multiple inheritance support. The new Backbase 4 architecture brings structure, performance and productivity to client-side Ajax logic, in the same way as Application Servers have brought structure and productivity to Java application development in the late 1990s. Today, we all use application servers to run our application logic. We will see a similar architecture emerging for client-side Ajax logic.“

Backbase Enterprise Ajax 4 features new levels of flexibility and openness, as well as Ajax runtime performance. “We are eager to migrate our applications to the new Backbase Enterprise Ajax 4,” said Pavel Kramer, Software Architect at Serena. “The new Widgets, the increased performance and the new architecture flexibility will significantly enhance our Web applications.”

Enterprise Ajax 4 includes a dual JavaScript/XML API that lets developers create their application in the programming language they are most familiar with. The new flexible architecture facilitates the inclusion of third party components such as Yahoo UI components, Dojo Widgets, Google Gadgets, and more.

“The new support for third party components is a significant move toward making the different Ajax technologies work together,” said Gerbert Kaandorp, CTO of Backbase. “The new framework operates as a truly open platform, allowing developers to enrich their applications with the Ajax widgets and components of their choice.” In addition, the Backbase framework includes the industry largest library of widgets and functions - over 250 - with source code. The framework includes the ability to customize, extend components, and create entirely new components without any Ajax experience requirements.

The new framework is even more extensible and integrates directly with any server platform, including Struts, JSF, Spring, SOA, and Portals. Backbase Enterprise Ajax 4 includes a full set of development tools designed to increase developers’ productivity. It also includes a development plug-in for the Eclipse platform and a browser based debugger.

With Enterprise Ajax 4, Backbase demonstrates its support for the new W3C standards - including the WCAG Accessibility standard, and Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act.

Backbase Enterprise Ajax 4 is available today. It comes in three editions: a free Community Edition for development and deployment up to one server and 2CPUs; a Client Edition and a JSF Edition. People and businesses requiring additional enterprise functionality, more CPUs, support services, maintenance, and other services can buy a commercial license on a subscription basis starting at $2,500 per year for 2 developers and 2 CPUs.

In addition to its Enterprise Ajax Framework, Backbase offers Ajax 360, a full solution offering a complete suite of services for the Enterprise Ajax framework.

About Backbase

Backbase, Inc, The Ajax Company^TM, is the leading provider of enterprise software for creating Ajax-based Rich Internet Applications (RIAs). Medium to large enterprises and independent software vendors use Backbase to enhance the usability of their Web applications, migrate fat client applications to the Web, deliver next-generation online self-service applications, and create enterprise mashups. Founded in 2003, Backbase is headquartered in San Mateo, California, USA. Additional information is available at www.backbase.com .