Avaki Redefines Enterprise-Wide Data Integration with Introduction of Avaki 5.0 and Enterprise Data Integration Framework.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers BURLINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 13, 2004 New Software Release Adds Powerful Data Integration Capabilities, Opens Data Service Layer to Third-party Integration Approaches Pacific Capital Bancorp Implements Avaki 5.0 as Strategic Architecture Layer to Improve Efficiency and Reduce Costs Delivering on its promise to provide an enterprise-wide framework for data integration, Avaki Corporation today announced general availability of Avaki 5.0, enterprise information integration (EII (Enterprise Information Integration) Similar to an EIS (executive information system), an EII aggregates current information from all data sources within an organization. ) software that provides a data service layer to streamline data access and integration for a wide range of applications. Now, for the first time, companies can deploy a powerful and flexible data integration solution that scales enterprise wide. Avaki 5.0 delivers significant data integration enhancements that further simplify the provisioning, access and integration of data from multiple, heterogeneous Not the same. Contrast with homogeneous. heterogeneous - Composed of unrelated parts, different in kind. Often used in the context of distributed systems that may be running different operating systems or network protocols (a heterogeneous network). , distributed sources. It also debuts the Enterprise Data Integration Framework, a set of capabilities that enables customers to bring all their data integration efforts under one enterprise-wide umbrella - increasing data availability Refers to the degree to which data can be instantly accessed. The term is mostly associated with service levels that are set up either by the internal IT organization or that may be guaranteed by a third party datacenter or storage provider. and reducing the cost and complexity of data integration. The company also announced that California-based Pacific Capital Bancorp is among several new customers that have selected Avaki software as a core data architecture component (see related release, "Pacific Capital Bancorp Selects Avaki Software as Core Data Architecture Component to Accelerate Strategic Systems Initiatives and Drive Customer Service Excellence"). Avaki is helping companies across many industries, including Pacific Capital Bancorp, respond more nimbly nim·ble adj. nim·bler, nim·blest 1. Quick, light, or agile in movement or action; deft: nimble fingers. See Synonyms at dexterous. 2. to market demands and execute critical IT projects more quickly. "Avaki software is helping Pacific Capital Bancorp make better, more strategic use of data, which is critical to running our banks efficiently and providing better service to our customers," said William Grimm, CIO CIO: see American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations. (Chief Information Officer) The executive officer in charge of information processing in an organization. at Pacific Capital Bancorp. "To meet our aggressive business goals we must deploy key applications quickly for our branches and our central operations Central Operations (CO) is a major command of the London Metropolitan Police that provides operational support to the rest of the service. It is commanded by Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur. . We could not do this in such a straightforward and cost-effective way without Avaki as the foundation of our data architecture." Several New Data Integration Capabilities Expand Range of Options Avaki 5.0 adds a number of new, powerful data integration features that support a wider range of integration approaches, assist architects in creating integration logic, and provide the ability to interoperate See interoperable. with third-party data tools. These features include: -- Two new integration service constructs, the Data Service and the Data Grid  The introduction to this article is vague. To comply with Wikipedia's guidelines, it should be improved. Query, which significantly expand the ways data can be transformed, aggregated, and integrated using Avaki software. -- Tools for creating these integrations in a streamlined, visual way, through integration with products from Altova Corporation combined with Avaki's ability to generate XML schema The definition of an XML document, which includes the XML tags and their interrelationships. Residing within the document itself, an XML schema may be used to verify the integrity of the content. for Avaki data catalog catalog, descriptive list, on cards or in a book, of the contents of a library. Assurbanipal's library at Nineveh was cataloged on shelves of slate. The first known subject catalog was compiled by Callimachus at the Alexandrian Library in the 3d cent. B.C. entries. Judith Hurwitz, president of Hurwitz & Associates said, "Data integration complexity delays too many application projects today. Avaki provides a data services layer which is an important component in helping companies to leverage data across stove-piped applications and data sources." The Data Service enables any data integration logic, including Java, XSL (eXtensible Stylesheet Language) A standard from the W3C for describing a style sheet for XML documents. It is the XML counterpart to the Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) in HTML and is compatible with CSS2. or third-party tools, to be flexibly packaged and provisioned to execute transformations and integrations dynamically using data from multiple, disparate distributed data sources. Data Services enable right-time integration and processing of data from relational and file-based data sources, facilitating, for example, the creation of a composite view of the customer from multiple, heterogeneous data sources. Another key integration feature is the Data Grid Query, a query defined in Avaki to execute against multiple databases, creating integrated result sets that can then be further transformed and integrated if necessary. Data Services, Data Grid Queries, and other Avaki data integration features can be used separately or together to satisfy a wide range of data integration requirements. To assist architects in creating data integration logic for Data Services, Avaki 5.0 generates XML schema to provide metadata (1) (meta-data) Data that describes other data. The term may refer to detailed compilations such as data dictionaries and repositories that provide a substantial amount of information about each data element. for registered data sources. Finally, Avaki integrates seamlessly with Altova Mapforce, an industry-leading data integration development tool. Integration with these products, combined with the availability of XML schema, enables architects to quickly define transformations and integrations by visually mapping data sources and targets, then automatically generating integration logic in XSL or Java to create the Data Service. With this powerful combination, Avaki gives architects an efficient, flexible way to define and deploy modular, reusable re·use tr.v. re·used, re·us·ing, re·us·es To use again, especially after salvaging or special treatment or processing. re·us data integrations. Avaki's Enterprise Data Integration Framework Offers Control and Flexibility Avaki's Enterprise Data Integration Framework enables companies to realize the full potential of investments in enterprise data, data integration, and related tools by controlling all data integration efforts under one umbrella. The Enterprise Data Integration Framework is a set of capabilities that helps customers address their increasingly complex integration challenges with a solution that can scale across the enterprise. It is designed to meet the needs of CIOs and other IT leaders who are spending too much time and money on disparate, project-driven data integration initiatives and want to implement efficiencies without losing flexibility. Dr. Philip Russom, principal analyst, Forrester Research Forrester Research is an independent technology and market research company that provides its clients with advice about technology's impact on business and consumers. Corporate facts
Within the Framework, Avaki integration features work alongside a company's custom integration code and third-party data integration tools, including tools for ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) The functions performed when pulling data out of one database and placing it into another of a different type. ETL is used to migrate data, often from relational databases into decision support systems. , data cleansing See address cleansing and data hygiene. , data profiling Data profiling is a process whereby one examines the data available in an existing database and collects statistics and information about that data. The purpose of these statistics may be to:
Avaki 5.0 Supports Diverse Application Solutions With Avaki 5.0, companies in a variety of industries can more efficiently integrate and deliver data for key business applications. Avaki is most valuable when companies must integrate data from multiple, heterogeneous, distributed sources. For example, -- Companies creating corporate performance dashboards use Avaki to ensure that the most current data is presented to decision makers, regardless of data format or origin, and make applications easier to maintain over time as new data sources become available. -- Enterprise reporting With the dramatic expansion of information technology, and the desire for increased competitiveness in corporations, there has been an increase in the use of computing power to produce unified reports which join different views of the enterprise in one place. and business intelligence efforts benefit from Avaki's ability to complement business intelligence and reporting tools by making data from multiple, heterogeneous, distributed sources available through a single data service layer, providing data in the formats needed to meet diverse requirements. -- For companies grappling with customer data integration in order to improve customer service and marketing, Avaki offers a flexible way to create a composite view of the customer using data from multiple sources. With integrated customer data, companies can serve their customers more effectively and take advantage of opportunities to cross- or up-sell in a targeted way. Other Major Enhancements Include Web Services (1) Loosely, any online service delivered over the Web. Such usage appears in articles from non-technical sources, but not in IT-oriented publications, because definition #2 below describes the correct use of the term. Interface Along with new data integration capabilities, Avaki 5.0 provides enhancements in several other areas that extend the value of the data service layer and enable customers to take full advantage of the benefits it provides. These include: -- Web Services Interface. Avaki enables applications to automatically access data through a Web Services (SOAP) interface. Once a data resource has been registered in the data catalog, a Web Services client with appropriate permissions can take advantage of the data service layer to access the data without any additional work. -- Ability to Audit Data Use. Companies can use Avaki to capture information about who is using what data. This is an important requirement for regulatory compliance, process improvement efforts, and internal management feedback and controls. -- Wider Range of Caching caching - cache Options. A wider range of options is available for both scheduled and on-demand caching, helping companies deliver data efficiently to consuming applications and ensure the availability of the freshest possible data. -- Enhanced Load Balancing The fine tuning of a computer system, network or disk subsystem in order to more evenly distribute the data and/or processing across available resources. For example, in clustering, load balancing might distribute the incoming transactions evenly to all servers, or it might redirect them and Failover Invoking a secondary system to take over when the primary system fails. Up-to-date copies of all required data and applications are maintained on the secondary system in order to respond immediately if the primary system becomes unusable. Also called "fallover." See replication. . Companies can now balance the processing of data transformation and integration across multiple processors to optimize optimize - optimisation performance, and can take advantage of a wider range of failover options to maximize data availability. Full Speed Ahead "With Avaki 5.0, we are delivering a uniquely powerful and flexible enterprise data integration solution," said Tim Yeaton, president 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 Avaki Corporation. "Each day, the companies we work with are confirming the value of a data service layer in shortening their projects and reducing costs. To be sure, Avaki 5.0 is an important milestone for us. Through our own capabilities and in cooperation with our business partners, we'll continue to broaden the range of integration features, and provide an even richer, more productive environment for delivering data integration capabilities across an entire organization." About Avaki Corporation Avaki Corporation provides enterprise information integration software that helps companies in data-intensive industries deploy business information systems faster and at lower cost through better data integration. With software from Avaki, companies such as Pfizer, Aventis, and Pacific Capital Bancorp are delivering applications faster, reducing data management costs, and making enterprise data more widely available within and beyond corporate boundaries. Backed by Polaris Venture Partners, General Catalyst, and Sofinnova, Avaki is located in Burlington, MA. |
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