The year 2004 was all about service-oriented architecture and the ability to reuse software components. It makes sense then that our winning product in the application development/deployment category is LogicLibrary, Inc.'s Logidex 3.5.

Logidex is an asset management tool that developers can use to find and access software development components. It maps relationships among them and the business processes they support, allowing enterprises to manage and reuse assets. The tool was created to help businesses understand what software development assets exist, where they're located and how each fits into the company's business and technical plans.

The tool earned high scores in each category, particularly in performance, ease of integration and support.

One judge said, "[Logidex is] definitely a unique product with compelling features."

Logidex is compliant with the WS-I Basic Profile, allowing interoperability across platforms. Other features include:

• Governance of the UDDI publication process
• Interoperability across J2EE and .NET platforms
• Advanced search capabilities
• An open event notification framework
• Support for SAP NetWeaver Developer Studio

The product is scaleable for the number of users and assets stored. According to the company, performance testing for Logidex 3.5 has shown that asset searches produced an average response time under two seconds with 500 concurrent users and 2,500 SDAs stored in Logidex.

As far as support, LogicLibrary offers consulting and training services to help organizations get started with software reuse, Web services and SOA initiatives.

Pricing for Logidex 3.5, the latest version of the product, starts at $10,000 for the Logidex server and $1,000 per Logidex seat. The company also notes that in reusing assets, users automatically generate substantial cost savings.

Editor's note: Pricing has been updated for 2005. The Logidex 3.5 server now starts at $25,000.

Catherine Ketcher