BEA, Oki Electric To Build Communications Software

BEA Systems Inc. and Oki Electric Industry Co. Ltd. on Friday said they have formed an alliance to build a business applications platform that combines information technology and communications.

The new software platform will combine Oki Electric's Internet protocol (IP) technology with San Jose, Calif.-based, BEA's WebLogic application server. As part of the agreement, the two companies will provide joint sales and marketing for the new product.

In the first quarter of next year, Japan-based Oki Electric plans to release a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) module for BEA WebLogic Server 8.1. SIP is an IP telephony signaling protocol used primarily for voice over IP calls. The protocol, however, can also be used for video and other types of media.

This new agreement is an extension of the companies' existing global partnership.