IBM on Wednesday unveiled an integration server that is expected to compete with Microsoft BizTalk for the wallets of small to medium-sized businesses. The WebSphere Business Integration Server Express is for SMBs looking for a low-cost integration platform for connecting internal information technology systems or for automating business transactions over the Internet. The platform includes out-of-the-box adapters for connecting to databases and applications via Java-based standards, including JDBC and JMS, and extensible markup language, or XML.

In addition, the Armonk, N.Y.-based company unveiled two products built for companies within the electronics and life sciences industries. All the products are members of IBM's Express portfolio, which bundles hardware, middleware, services and financing for the SMB market. The new integration server, scheduled to ship May 14, is priced squarely against Microsoft's integration platform BizTalk, Shawn Willett, analyst for market researcher Current Analysis, said. Starting price for IBM's product is about $6,000 per processor, while BizTalk runs about $7,000. "(IBM) is obviously trying to hit right under BizTalk," Willett said.