Business Process Execution Language. An XML-based language designed to enable task-sharing for a service-oriented architecture environment—even across multiple organizations—by orchestrating and choreographing individual Web services. Using BPEL, a developer formally describes a business process in such a way that any cooperating entity can perform one or more steps in the process the same way. In a supply-chain process, for example, a BPEL program might describe a business protocol that formalizes what pieces of information a product order consists of and what exceptions may have to be handled. BPEL does not specify how a given service should process a given order internally.

Business Process Execution Language is an XML-based language for the formal specification of business processes and business interaction protocols. BPEL extends the Web Services interaction model and enables it to support business transactions. It is the result of a cross-company initiative between IBM, BEA and Microsoft to develop a universally supported process-related language.

Standards for the definition of multiple step Web service-mediated process flow.