Apex Networks Uses FuseSource’s Enterprise-Class Versions of Open Source Integration and Messaging in the U.K.’s New Network for Vehicle Recovery and Roadside Assistance

SOURCE:  FuseSource

BEDFORD, Mass. – November 8, 2011 – FuseSource Corp., experts in open source integration and messaging, today announced that Apex Networks, a rapidly growing IT support and solution provider in the automotive sector, uses the company’s enterprise-class distribution of the Apache™ ActiveMQ® project, the Fuse Message Broker®, in its APEX ANS software – technology that forms the core of the U.K.’s Automotive Network Services (ANS) network. The network enables the automotive clubs and insurance companies that serve more than 90 percent of the nation’s 32 million drivers to communicate quickly and effectively with the recovery vehicles, garages and first responders who dispatch and provide roadside assistance.

“If you have been stranded by a breakdown, you know why it’s so important that the ANS network functions flawlessly,” said Steve Williams, director at Apex Networks. “We were drawn to FuseSource’s Fuse Message Broker enterprise-class distribution of the Apache ActiveMQ project, for the speed of the technology, the success of existing customers like CERN, and access to experts the company offers – all through subscriptions that free users from the licensing fees that come with less flexible and prohibitively expensive proprietary offerings.”

In 2010, Apex Networks was selected for its Apex ANS software and expertise in the automotive industry to create the ANS network in a highly competitive bidding process. The ANS network replaces the radio network and Mobitex platform previously used by the U.K.’s insurance and vehicle recovery industries and decommissioned by BT Transcomm last year.

“FuseSource’s early involvement in this project confirmed our belief in using battle-hardened technology proven at stress levels that far exceed our requirements,” added Williams. “We initially turned to FuseSource for help with our proof-of-concept (PoC) because the company employs more project founders and committers to Apache integration and messaging projects than any other. That introduced us to the Apache Camel project – something that enabled us to complete our PoC faster than we ever dreamed possible – and made it clear that we’d found a partner who knows how to best use the technology in enterprise applications.”

Following the PoC, Apex also selected an enterprise-class distribution of the Apache Camel project, FuseSource’s Fuse Mediation Router®.

The ANS network, with Fuse Message Broker technology at its core, is now in use and being rolled out to the nation’s automotive clubs and insurers. With the new system, motorists call their automotive club’s call center, which then sends a text-based message to the nearest recovery vehicle. In absence of a response within 2 minutes, the request is then sent to another recovery vehicle.

Police and other emergency responders also use the network to assist motorists and inform recovery operators when they need help. Ensuing messages then route and track all relevant vehicles while keeping participants informed of one another’s progress and the status of each recovery effort – information that is monitored at all times by Apex Networks’ control center.

In a given year, the network will communicate more than 100 million such messages in response to the five to eight million breakdowns that occur in the U.K. each year. Automotive clubs using the ANS network include The Automotive Association, AXA Assistance, Britannia Rescue, Call Assist, Equity Red Star, Europ Assistance, FMG Support, Green Flag, Mondial Assistance, RAC, The Rescue Service and more than 700 independent recovery and tow truck operators and subcontractors.

“Apex Networks offers a perfect example of what originally led us to create ActiveMQ and Camel at the Apache Software Foundation,” said Rob Davies, CTO of FuseSource and co-founder of Apache projects ActiveMQ, Camel and ServiceMix. “We wanted to create a fast message broker that always works and help developers work quickly with enterprise integration patterns. The ANS network is a reflection of what results when you combine the resulting capabilities with extensive automotive systems and services expertise. Apex built an exceptionally resilient network that is at the same time accessible for family-owned recovery subcontractors who might otherwise find it difficult to integrate into large-scale systems.”

For more information on Apex Networks, download the Apex case study here.

About FuseSource

Backed by the leaders and founders of several key Apache Software Foundation projects, FuseSource Corp. is the expert in open source integration and messaging. The company is solely focused on providing enterprise-ready integration and messaging software combined with the tools, training and “expertise”/enterprise-support/consulting sought by organizations implementing and managing integration projects such as SOA, cloud environments and others. Hundreds of large enterprises worldwide rely on FuseSource solutions to deploy and manage integration and messaging infrastructure at a lower total cost of ownership than traditional commercial solutions. FuseSource is a wholly owned subsidiary of Progress Software Corporation and can be found on the web at fusesource.com.

FuseSource, Fuse, Fuse ESB, Fuse Message Broker, and Fuse Mediation Router are trademarks or registered trademarks of Progress Software Corporation or one of its subsidiaries or affiliates in the United States and other countries. Any other names contained herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.