Software components developer Ilog will this month launch a business rule engine that lets companies exchange and update business rules over the web.

JRules 3.5 uses XML as its primary input and output method. XML has been widely adopted by industry as a means of automating data exchange between business systems over the web.

However, it only deals with the data itself, said Ilog, and does not give a user contextual information.

JRules 3.5 sends additional data with XML documents between applications, so XML can handle the customer profile details, while business rules deal with preferences.

The engine processes XML directly, so it is not necessary for users to write additional code to access XML data, or invest in software to translate Java objects into XML.

JRules can be used in a range of applications, said Younes Alaoui, Ilog's strategic business development director, including customer relationship management and e-finance processes.

The engine might provide a risk profile of a customer wishing to buy a financial product, such as a loan, using JRules to identify risks from the age, earnings and future requirements of the customer.

It also allows firms to bring new business partners into existing processes, said Alaoui. If a company needs to adapt order formats to suit a new business partner, JRules can introduce appropriate business rules automatically, without bringing the system to a halt.

Ilog customers have reported that JRules enables a more personalised and appropriate service. Hugues Delannoy, managing director at Prima Solutions, a French company that has used JRules to set up an insurance marketplace, said that the engine verifies that insurers receive relevant requests, and customers are given the best possible quotes, by enforcing appropriate business rules.

Prima Solutions' Assurland.com portal, which gathers and sends out all enquiries and information, uses the rules to assess which insurers should receive requests, and then selects the best quotes for the customer according to certain criteria, said Delannoy.

The web interface also allows insurers to key in their own rules regarding subscriptions or promotions using a web browser. JRules 3.5 will be available at the end of June, priced at £7,000.