BEA Systems announced that Synapse Group has implemented a service-oriented architecture (SOA)-based self-service solution for magazine subscribers on BEA technology.

Synapse specializes in marketing through affinity programs. Synapse enables companies such as credit card issuers and airlines to offer magazine subscriptions to their loyalty program members. The customer self-service solution built on BEA extends Synapse's existing touchtone-based self-service capabilities to the Internet. The BEA solution is also helping Synapse enrich the customer experience and drive additional revenue. Up to ten million magazine subscribers are now able to manage their subscriptions 24/7 via the web.

"Innovation is the lifeblood of loyalty marketing," said Paul Citarella, director of enterprise architecture at Synapse Group. "We are continually looking for opportunities to improve convenience, add services, and facilitate more compelling customer interactions for magazine publishers and loyalty marketers. The customer self-service solution we've built on BEA is an example of our commitment to innovation, and this is just the first phase of our SOA. We envision a true information-as-a-service model that will provide extreme flexibility and create many new opportunities for our clients."

BEA AquaLogic Service Bus 3.0 is the foundation of the SOA, providing service orchestration and mediation. BEA AquaLogic Data Services Platform 3.0 handles data transformation and manages the services that abstract data from core back-office systems, including order processing and campaign management. BEA WebLogic Server is the platform for Synapse's web applications, which include consumer-facing websites that are branded by Synapse's clients.

"The web is an ideal channel for loyalty marketing because it provides limitless scalability and cost-effective customer support," said Citarella. "The combination of our SOA and BEA's technology can help allow us to maximize our utilization of the web channel. We have a flexible, high-performance business platform that is designed to provide a strategic advantage for us today and to help us bring new capabilities to market rapidly in the future."