DataDirect Technologies Extends Its Leadership in XML Data Integration with Launch of New XML Converters.

Java(TM) and .NET Component-Based Converters Offer Easy, Bi-Directional, Streaming Conversion for EDI and Legacy Data to XML 

BEDFORD, Mass. -- DataDirect Technologies, the unparalleled leader in data connectivity and mainframe integration and an operating company of Progress Software Corporation (Nasdaq: PRGS), today announced the availability of version 3.0 of its DataDirect XML Converters[TM] products. The high-performance Java(TM) and .NET components provide bi-directional, programmatic access to virtually any non-XML file including Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), flat files and other legacy formats.

As more companies turn to XML for the exchange of mission-critical data with trading partners, to conduct e-commerce and to ease data aggregation and Service-Oriented Architectures (SOA) integration projects, they are seeking tools to easily convert legacy data formats into XML and back without a major re-architecting of their applications. The DataDirect XML Converters products were created to maximize XML developer productivity by helping to eliminate some of the common challenges associated with XML data integration both in software development and deployment. Version 3.0 extends market reach and developer usability of the converters by adding a Microsoft .NET version built on 100 percent managed code architecture for greater security, reliability and scalability.

"The DataDirect XML Converters products maximize developer productivity and provide a fast, scalable mechanism for the two-way conversion of EDI and other formats to XML and XML to EDI," said Robert Evelyn, vice president of strategy and general manager of the XML product group at DataDirect Technologies. "In doing so, companies can better accommodate trading partner requirements for increased profitability, streamlined communications throughout the trading partner network, greater operational efficiencies and cost reductions."

With support for standards-based SAX, StAX, XmlReader, XmlWriter, DOM and I/O streaming interfaces, the DataDirect XML Converters products can be easily embedded into any application for translation or as part of a chain of programs including XSLT and XQuery, providing seamless integration for relational, XML and flat file types including EDI X12, Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport (EDIFACT), International Air Transport Association (IATA) and binary files such as dBase, CSV, tab-delimited, Silk, etc. To enable and manage extensions to proprietary file formats, custom XML conversions can be created using the Stylus Studio([R])product, DataDirect Technologies' award-winning XML integrated development environment.

TalentLab, an Italian company specializing in Enterprise Application Integration for SAP users, works with its partners and clients in their approach to enterprise SOA based on the SAP Netweaver integration and development platform. The consulting firm develops custom exchange applications, corporate portals and enterprise services along with accurate systems and application tuning. Using the DataDirect XML Converters, TalentLab can easily and more efficiently manage various EDI messages within the SAP environment.

"EDI message exchange with SAP or any other infrastructure is a complex task - whatever format you choose on-the-other-side, EDI must be handled carefully and that's not easy with the various EDI dialects that exist," said Ricardo Andres Maienza, TalentLab consultant and member of the SAP Developer Network. "That's why we use the DataDirect XML Converters product, because it can handle virtually any EDI message, easily integrates with Java and .NET programs and can reduce the time spent with EDI messages in SAP Exchange Infrastructure from weeks to just hours."

For more information, visit DataDirect Technologies at the Microsoft Financial Services Developer Conference, April 25-26 in New York, or go to www.xmlconverters.com.

About DataDirect Technologies

DataDirect Technologies is the software industry's only comprehensive provider of software for connecting the world's most critical business applications to data and services, running on any platform, using proven and emerging standards. Developers worldwide depend on DataDirect[R] products to connect their applications to an unparalleled range of data sources using standards-based interfaces such as ODBC, JDBC[TM] and ADO.NET, XQuery and SOAP. More than 300 leading independent software vendors and thousands of enterprises rely on DataDirect Technologies to simplify and streamline data connectivity for distributed systems and to reduce the complexity of mainframe integration. DataDirect Technologies is an operating company of Progress Software Corporation (Nasdaq: PRGS). For more information, visit www.datadirect.com.

DataDirect, DataDirect XML Converters, and Stylus Studio are trademarks or registered trademarks of Progress Software Corporation or one of its subsidiaries or affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. Java and all Java based marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. Any other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.