However, today we are just finding this out. As more and more end users attempt to create their first instances of SOA-like solutions, the fact that BPEL is not about process integration or workflow, is now well known. Thus, many are wondering if BPEL’s days are numbered, or if the standard will reinvent itself.

So, what’s the delta between BPEL and process integration. Simply put, business process integration is a set of easily defined and centrally managed processes on top of existing sets of processes contained within a set of enterprise applications. Business process integration or business process management is the science and mechanism of managing the movement of data, and the invocation of processes in the correct and proper order to support the management and execution of common processes that exist in and between applications.

The goal is to bring together relevant processes found in an enterprise or trading community to obtain the maximum amount of value, while supporting the flow of information and control logic between these processes. Business process integration offers a mechanism to bind disparate processes together and to create process-to-process solutions that automate tasks once performed manually.

The problem is that BPEL, for the most part, was not built for process integration. Many vendors are attempting to fill in the missing pieces through proprietary extensions, but that’s never smart. Moreover, the standard is going through the reinvention now. But, you have to ask yourself if it’s in time to save the standard…IT forgives no one. I know many end users that are pushing back on BPEL, instead moving to older business process technology, or other standards such as Choreography. BPEL has certainly hit some rough roads.