Software AG opens BPM social networking beta test

The beta nature of the service shows up in its usability: Browsing the activities to find new details added by other users requires clicking on each sticky and flicking through the tabs, or consulting a Facebook-style stream of information about recent actions. Neither the stickies nor the stream is searchable, and the stream can't be filtered to show only information about particular activities.

"That's high on my wishlist," said Software AG's Thomas Stoesser, one of those behind ArisAlign.

Software AG built ArisAlign on Amazon Web Services because "it's cost-effective, it saved us a lot in hosting fees," said Matt Green.

The company is still developing its software-as-a-service strategy and learning what it takes to move applications to the cloud, he said.

Going with Amazon Web Services allowed Software AG to reuse existing products, such as its own portal platform. Using Google's App Engine would have required a complete rebuild, he said.