Products are part of new platform BEA Systems on Monday will begin shipping the Java virtual machine and application server it announced in March as components of its BEA WebLogic Platform 8.1 for Java applications. The company will ship WebLogic 8.1, which is the company’s application server, and JRockit 8.1, a new Java virtual machine, according to the company. The 8.1 platform is intended to make it easier to develop on Java and build “industrial-strength” Web services, according to the San Jose, Calif.-based company. The application server upgrade features performance that is 30 percent better than the previous version of the product, Version 7.0, BEA said. Auto configuration and monitoring also are featured. Other components of the 8.1 platform, such as the WebLogic Workshop development environment and WebLogic Portal product for portals development, are in beta release now with general availability planned for this summer. Software DevelopmentTechnology IndustrySmall and Medium Business