AlphaBlox Corp. Ships Flagship Product, AlphaBlox Enlighten.ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 17, 1998-- DCI (Display Control Interface) An Intel/Microsoft programming interface for full-motion video and games in Windows. It allowed applications to take advantage of video accelerator features built into the display adapter. Data Warehouse World Product Revolutionizes Information Analysis in the Enterprise and Delivers the First Dynamic Assembly Framework for Creating Analysis Applications Today at DCI's Data Warehouse World, AlphaBlox(TM) Corp. announced the first generally available version of its flagship product A primary product of a company, which is typically why the company was founded and/or what made it well known. For example, MS-DOS, Windows and the Microsoft Office suite have been flagship products of Microsoft. CorelDRAW is a flagship product of Corel Corporation. , AlphaBlox Enlighten en·light·en tr.v. en·light·ened, en·light·en·ing, en·light·ens 1. To give spiritual or intellectual insight to: (TM), is shipping. AlphaBlox Enlighten is the industry's first complete system that provides easy-to-use Operational Analysis Applications for line-of-business users via the Web. Customers can create Operational Analysis Applications through AlphaBlox's breakthrough technology, Dynamic Application Assembly(TM) (DAA DAA - Distributed Application Architecture: under design by Hewlett-Packard and Sun. A distributed object management environment that will allow applications to be developed independent of operating system, network or windowing system. ). DAA represents an order of magnitude A change in quantity or volume as measured by the decimal point. For example, from tens to hundreds is one order of magnitude. Tens to thousands is two orders of magnitude; tens to millions is three orders of magnitude, etc. shift in software development that will allow corporations to quickly assemble Web-deployable Operational Analysis Applications, without writing a single line of code. DAA significantly reduces the software development cycle with a simple "Lego-like" approach where building blocks "Blox(TM)" -- are literally snapped together on a Web page creating an interactive application that can be accessed through any Java-capable Web browser The program that serves as your front end to the Web on the Internet. In order to view a site, you type its address (URL) into the browser's Location field; for example, www.computerlanguage.com, and the home page of that site is downloaded to you. . "AlphaBlox set out to revolutionize rev·o·lu·tion·ize tr.v. rev·o·lu·tion·ized, rev·o·lu·tion·iz·ing, rev·o·lu·tion·iz·es 1. To bring about a radical change in: Television has revolutionized news coverage. 2. how Operational Analysis Applications are assembled and deployed because the traditional software development cycle couldn't keep pace with the rate of business change," said Michael Skok, chairman and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of AlphaBlox. "We also saw the need for line-of-business managers in the enterprise, not just analysts, to access the information they have stored in databases and data warehouses. Previously generic tools could only be used by specially trained analysts because they were to hard too use. Our product will allow executives and line-of-business managers to see and understand what's really going on in their business through analysis applications and to deploy and disseminate dis·sem·i·nate v. dis·sem·i·nat·ed, dis·sem·i·nat·ing, dis·sem·i·nates v.tr. 1. To scatter widely, as in sowing seed. 2. that information to a larger audience than ever before." "Companies are moving away from the traditional power-user tools approach to information analysis and are now focusing efforts on connecting more people in the enterprise to information," said Don MacTavish, senior research analyst, Application Delivery Strategies, META Group. "Through its customization and dynamic assembly features, AlphaBlox is delivering a product that will support the development of cost effective, Web-based solutions for Business Performance Management (BPM (Business Process Management) A structured approach that models an enterprise's human and machine tasks and the interactions between them as processes. BPM software provides users with a dashboard interface that offers a high-level view of the operation that typically ) and analysis. At META Group, we see component-based analytical applications as an ideal way to deliver data warehouse access to the entire enterprise." Operational Analysis Applications Provide Significant Competitive Advantage By deploying Operational Analysis Applications created through AlphaBlox Enlighten, executives and line-of-business managers can speed decision-making and improve business processes. AlphaBlox products are designed to extend the reach of analysis applications to a broader audience of knowledge workers by delivering easy-to-use applications that are specific to the operational needs of a department or line-of-business. Operational Analysis Applications deployed through the Web will enable users to immediately access and interactively analyze information stored in databases, data marts A subset of a data warehouse for a single department or function. A data mart may have tens of gigabytes of data rather than hundreds of gigabytes for the entire enterprise. See data warehouse. and data warehouses. With AlphaBlox Enlighten, applications can be created specifically for executives to identify key trends in the business; for example, executives can then disseminate this information to the company by publishing it as a URL URL in full Uniform Resource Locator Address of a resource on the Internet. The resource can be any type of file stored on a server, such as a Web page, a text file, a graphics file, or an application program. available through a Web browser. Sales departments can use custom information analysis applications to identify key opportunities for expansion. Finance can use AlphaBlox Enlighten to analyze data and seize cost-cutting opportunities. By allowing more people in the enterprise to access information that already resides in databases or data warehouses, companies gain an immediate competitive advantage. "AlphaBlox Enlighten enabled us to create a financial analysis application for interacting with our business information in a way that directly affects our bottom line," said Jeff Brobst senior manager, internal reporting at Symantec. "This application will allow decision makers across our enterprise to gain interactive, immediate access to revenue, expenses, channel inventory and sell-through data in order to make faster and better informed decisions." "As a systems integrator An individual or organization that builds systems from a variety of diverse components. With increasing complexity of technology, more customers want complete solutions to information problems, requiring hardware, software and networking expertise in a multivendor environment. focused on the enterprise analysis applications market, we have evaluated most of the products in this space. We have been highly impressed with the ability of AlphaBlox Enlighten to meet our needs for rapid delivery and customization," said Suresh Katta, President & CEO of Saama Technologies, a software development and technology consulting organization. "Our customers need easy-to-use analysis applications that can be customized for their individual needs and widely deployed to more people in the enterprise. AlphaBlox Enlighten delivers code-free assembly that allows our customers to access information when, where and how they want it." AlphaBlox Enlighten AlphaBlox Enlighten consists of three parts: Ready-to-Use Java Building Blox that can be assembled into analysis applications without coding; InterBlox(TM), the Dynamic Application Assembly framework that handles communications, cooperation and control of the Blox; and BASE, an extensible server environment that enables IS centralized cen·tral·ize v. cen·tral·ized, cen·tral·iz·ing, cen·tral·iz·es v.tr. 1. To draw into or toward a center; consolidate. 2. maintenance and administration of AlphaBlox Enlighten applications. This solution for designing, deploying and maintaining Web-based Operational Analysis Applications enables faster time-to-market decision-making for line of business managers and will dramatically increase response time for IS. Ready-to-Use Building Blox have a higher-level of functionality than components, objects, Java Beans See JavaBeans. or foundation classes. Blox hide a great deal of the complexity from the application assembler Software that translates assembly language into machine language. Contrast with compiler, which is used to translate a high-level language, such as COBOL or C, into assembly language first and then into machine language. by encapsulating a high-level of pre-tested functionality. AlphaBlox Enlighten 1.1 includes a suite of Blox specific to analysis applications: Data Blox for accessing data sources; Query Blox for defining queries; Presentation Blox for displaying the data; and Forms Blox, data-driven elements that drive the functionality of the application. InterBlox -- the Dynamic Application Assembly framework -- manages communications control and services among Blox, allowing drag and drop A graphical user interface (GUI) capability that lets you perform operations by moving the icon of an object with the mouse into another window or onto another icon. For example, files can be copied or moved by dragging them from one folder to another. assembly of Blox into powerful analysis applications. Dynamic Application Assembly made possible through InterBlox changes the development audience from engineering to IS -- enabling them to assemble and deploy more applications throughout the enterprise to support business processes and improve business decisions. Eager Interfaces(TM) is an exclusive AlphaBlox technology that dramatically reduces the need to program or script relationships between Blox. Eager Interfaces "eagerly" look for and find other Blox and allow Blox to connect and share data. BASE -- Blox Analysis Server Environment -- enables IS centralized maintenance and administration for the efficient deployment of AlphaBlox Enlighten applications. BASE runs on NT or UNIX servers A medium to large-scale computer system in a network that runs under Unix. Unix servers are widely used as application servers and database servers and are available from a variety of vendors, including Sun, IBM, HP and others. and provides the security and services for AlphaBlox Enlighten applications. BASE also has a JNDI-compliant repository for the storage of data and profiling of users. AlphaBlox Enlighten also comes with two ready-to-run applications that are examples of the kind of applications customers can assemble, illustrating the power of Dynamic Application Assembly: AlphaBlox Decider, a Web-based decision support application; and AlphaBlox Informer Informer Battus revealed theft by Mercury; turned to touchstone. [Gk. and Rom. Myth.: Walsh Classical, 47] Cenci, Count Francesco old libertine ravishes his daughter Beatrice. [Br. Lit. , a self-service application A software application that allows a user to obtain information or complete a business transaction on the computer that has traditionally required the help of a human representative. Voice response systems and Web sites are widely used for self-service applications. See kiosk. for personalized per·son·al·ize tr.v. per·son·al·ized, per·son·al·iz·ing, per·son·al·iz·es 1. To take (a general remark or characterization) in a personal manner. 2. To attribute human or personal qualities to; personify. interactive analysis. Pricing and Availability AlphaBlox Enlighten Release 1.1 is immediately available by calling 888/BLOXNOW. Pricing for the product starts at $50,000 per server for up to 50 users. AlphaBlox Enlighten is immediately available on both the NT and UNIX UNIX Operating system for digital computers, developed by Ken Thompson of Bell Laboratories in 1969. It was initially designed for a single user (the name was a pun on the earlier operating system Multics). platforms. AlphaBlox Enlighten can also be purchased through a program called AlphaBlox FASTART, a comprehensive suite of products and services designed for the fast, effective delivery of AlphaBlox Enlighten analysis applications. About AlphaBlox AlphaBlox Corp. was founded in 1996 to provide complete systems for Web-based Operational Analysis Applications for customers. AlphaBlox products provide customers immediate access, interactive analysis and customized application of enterprise information. AlphaBlox is dedicated to extending the rapidly expanding analytical applications market to a broader community of managers and knowledge workers by delivering Operational Analysis Applications. By fundamentally changing the development process through Dynamic Application Assembly and allowing end-users for the first time to receive their information when, where and how they want it, Operational Analysis Applications will now be available to a wider range of users, unlocking the potential of analysis in the enterprise. AlphaBlox product and service information is located on the World Wide Web at http://www.alphablox.com, and sales information is also available by phoning 888-BLOXNOW. -0- Note to editors: AlphaBlox, AlphaBlox Enlighten, Blox, InterBlox, Eager Interfaces and Dynamic Application Assembly are trademarks of AlphaBlox Corp. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. CONTACT: AlphaBlox Corp. Karen Steele, 650/526-1751 ksteele@alphablox.com or Cunningham Communications Chimene White, 650/858-3751 cwhite@ccipr.com |
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