Burton Group's Catalyst Conference Europe Addresses Enterprise Data Networking.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

MUNICH, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 25, 2002

Burton Also Publishes Research Report Identifying New Trends

in Enterprise Integration and Data Networks

Burton Group, a pioneer in network technology research and consulting, is introducing the concept of enterprise data networking to information technology professionals attending its European Catalyst Conference, Sept. 24-26 in Munich. In a Sept. 26 presentation, which was derived from a research report that Burton recently published, Burton analysts will discuss the concept of data networking as a logical extension of the Web services framework, outlining an emerging architecture that is gaining favor with both application developers and network vendors.

The report, "Beyond Application Integration: Concepts and Functions of Enterprise Data Networking," by Burton Senior Analyst Mike Neuenschwander, is available as part of Burton's Directory and Security Strategies service. As the report points out, the Web services framework today focuses primarily on sharing procedures across applications by employing remote procedure calls and other distributed computing techniques. But, as Neuenschwander states in the report, services that facilitate data sharing will prove equally important. Data networks, which provide those services, will allow enterprises to turn data into shareable, addressable objects, leveraging the strengths of the Web and the Extensible Markup Language (XML).

"Business process automation remains a high priority for enterprises," said Neuenschwander. "It makes organizations more responsive to business change, reduces management cost, and accelerates time to market. Unfortunately, most integration architectures focus on sharing procedures and largely ignore the need for additional data-sharing infrastructure. As a result, these products typically offer only poor and unwieldy data integration services. Perhaps even more important, many enterprise application developers mistakenly implement procedure-sharing architectures -- with their attendant higher costs and other problems -- when data sharing services are better suited to the needs of the applications they're trying to integrate."

According to Neuenschwander, the concept of data networking, or data sharing, is gaining favor in a variety of circles. Many developers in the XML community have begun discussing data sharing based on the Representational State Transfer, or REST, architecture. Burton's report covers the emerging REST architecture as well as efforts by the likes of IBM and Novell to address the need for data networking in their products. IBM is participating with other vendors in data networking discussions at Catalyst Europe.

"Burton Group recognizes the importance of services for information integration that, together with application integration techniques, can effectively address the integration needs of enterprises. These services will enable data to be transformed into shareable, addressable resources," said Don O'Toole, director of Strategic Software Technology Marketing at IBM.

At Catalyst Europe, discussions will highlight that data sharing is as much a matter of architecture as it is product, so enterprises can begin applying the principles of data networking to any application integration project. Burton will continue its coverage of data networking as part of its ongoing research into Web services and other network technologies.

Information about Catalyst Conference is located at www.burtongroup/catalyst.

About Burton Group

A technology-industry pioneer, Burton Group is the only company to offer integrated research, advisory and consulting services, which are critical to Global 2000 enterprises planning the evolution of their network and applications infrastructure. Burton consultants and analysts champion vendor-independent viewpoints as they guide IT professionals in the strategy of building and the tactics of managing scalable, secure, efficient networks.

Burton has specialized in network-technology research and analysis since its formation in 1990. The company predicted and defined the role that meta-directory plays in an enterprise. Today, Burton continues to anticipate the direction of key networking technologies and guide the decision-making process for the Fortune and Global 2000, and other enterprise clients in key markets such as education, banking/finance, health care, pharmaceuticals, automobile, and manufacturing.

About Catalyst Conference (www.burtongroup.com/catalyst)

Burton Group's Catalyst Conference is an annual, three-day event that focuses on relevant, critical network- and applications-infrastructure issues. The only conference of its kind, Catalyst brings together vendors, end users and analysts/consultants in a dynamic and intimate forum. This industry-shaping conference is well known for its end-user-driven agenda, intense focus and high-profile speakers. Since the first conference in 1993, Catalyst has reinforced Burton's reputation for substance, timeliness, credibility and integrity. For more information about Catalyst, visit www.burtongroup.com/catalyst or e-mail [e-mail].

Catalyst Europe, which is sponsored by Network World Germany and PricewaterhouseCoopers, is taking place at the ArabellaSheraton Grand Hotel in Munich, Sept. 24-26, 2002.