Executives from BEA Systems, IBM, Sonic Software and Sun Microsystems are participating in the "ESB-Con: Due Diligence Day" Webinar, sponsored by Integration Developer News. The executives kicked off the event with a panel discussion featuring advice on using ESBs.

"We don't recommend them for hosting pure application logic or systems that require tightly coupled components for execution," Hub Vandervoort, CTO at Sonic Software, said.

But Vandervoort said ESBs offer benefits in the areas of architecture and lifecycle, including business agility.

"In setting up an ESB environment, it's important to be familiar with XML standards, Vandervoort said.

Concurring with Vandervoort, Jeff Davies, principal architect for AquaLogic at BEA, cited the importance of Web services.