Prism Directory Manager 2.5 Provides Expanded MetaLink for Sharing Data Warehouse Meta Data with Decision Support Tools.SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 11, 1996--Prism Solutions, Inc., a leader in data warehouse management software, today announced Prism Directory Manager(tm) 2.5, a new release of software that makes it easier to understand, navigate and use a data warehouse by building an integrated Information Directory of its contents expressed in both business and technical terms. Highlights of the 2.5 release include the ability to share new types of meta data, or information about the data in the warehouse, via a meta data exchange capability called a MetaLink(tm). The MetaLink establishes a common layer of meta data between Prism Directory Manager and data warehouse access and analysis tools. Prism Directory Manager 2.5 also adds support for Teradata as a server database on 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, and a Windows 95 client for both PDM (1) (Product Data Management) An information system used to manage the data for a product as it passes from engineering to manufacturing. The data includes plans, geometric models, CAD drawings, images, NC programs as well as all related project data, notes and Builder and PDM Navigator seats that connect users to the Information Directory. According to Jim According to Jim is an American situation comedy television series originally broadcast by ABC. The show premiered with little publicity in October 2001, following the surprise hit comedy My Wife and Kids. Ashbrook, president of Prism Solutions, "The new release of Prism Directory Manager reflects the ongoing cooperative efforts between Prism, our customers and our business partners to create an industry-standard solution for managing and integrating data warehouse meta data. By extending the meta data links and platform support in Prism Directory Manager, we are actively addressing today's market requirements for effective meta data management." MetaLink Creates Common Meta Data Layer The Prism Directory Manager MetaLink capability provides a standard SQL SQL in full Structured Query Language. Computer programming language used for retrieving records or parts of records in databases and performing various calculations before displaying the results. interface for accessing the meta data in the Information Directory. It works with tools such as Brio (Brio Technology, Palo Alto, CA, www.brio.com) A software company founded in 1989 and acquired by Hyperion Solutions Corporation in 2003 that specialized in enterprise analysis and reporting programs that run on several platforms. Technology's BrioQuery, Business Objects' BUSINESSOBJECTS, Cognos' Impromptu, Information Advantage's DecisionSuite, MicroStrategy's DSS (1) (Digital Signature Standard) A National Security Administration standard for authenticating an electronic message. See RSA and digital signature. (2) (Digital Satellite S Agent and DSS Architect, and other tools that can read SQL. By creating a common layer of meta data between tools, the MetaLink helps to ensure the accuracy and consistency of meta data throughout the warehouse environment, and simplifies the management and administration of both the meta data and the data warehouse. With the MetaLink, decision support tools can provide their users a seamless view of both the meta data and the data in the warehouse. Not only does this make it easier for users to identify and retrieve relevant information for analysis, it also allows them to draw more meaningful conclusions by helping them to understand the business information in context with its physical implementation in the warehouse. The MetaLink shares meta data describing business subject areas, business items, tables, columns, primary keys and foreign keys in the data warehouse. With the 2.5 release, it now also provides data type and column length information. By indicating whether a column value is a character, integer or something else, "data type" lets a decision support tool know whether it can perform calculations on the field. By indicating how long a column is, "column length" lets a decision support tool know how much data will be returned from a search. In the case of very long columns, the tool could then notify the user to expect a longer response time. "Many organizations are faced with the challenge of using and managing meta data. With the proliferation of data warehouses, this problem has grown and the need for solutions has become more critical," said Patty Nghiem, vice president of business development, Business Objects. "Now, with the combination of BUSINESSOBJECTS and Prism Directory Manager, we can provide our mutual customers a complete solution that delivers powerful query, reporting and OLAP (OnLine Analytical Processing) Decision support software that allows the user to quickly analyze information that has been summarized into multidimensional views and hierarchies. OLAP tools are used to perform trend analysis on sales and financial information. capabilities, with minimal set-up and maintenance, and without recreating the meta data." About Prism Directory Manager Serving as the open card catalog for the data warehouse, Prism Directory Manager integrates business and technical meta data from multiple sources to build a 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. Information Directory. It creates a comprehensive view of warehouse information expressed in both business and technical terms, helping users understand what data is in the warehouse, where to find the data, the original sources and definitions of the data, the transformations applied during development and the changes that have occurred over time. Using a robust, object-based information model, Prism Directory Manager integrates business information from CASE tools, repositories and flat files, with the technical meta data and transformation logic captured by Prism Warehouse Manager(tm) and Prism Change Manager(tm) during the development and maintenance processes. In addition to exchanging meta data with decision support tools via the MetaLink capability, Prism Directory Manager exports meta data in CDIF (CASE Data Interchange Format) An EIA standard for exchanging data between CASE tools. See PCTE. CDIF - CASE Data Interchange Format (CASE Data Interchange Format CASE Data Interchange Format - (CDIF) An emerging standard for interchange of data between CASE tools. ) to repositories, supplementing their base of information about the content and structure of the data warehouse. Prism Directory Manager 2.5 is a client/server software suite comprised of three components: PDM Builder, PDM Navigator and the Information Directory. Supported server databases include Informix, Oracle, Sybase and Teradata on UNIX platforms, as well as DB2 on MVS (Multiple Virtual Storage) Introduced in 1974, the primary operating system used with IBM mainframes (the others are VM and DOS/VSE). MVS is a batch processing-oriented operating system that manages large amounts of memory and disk space. platforms. Clients run under Windows 95, Windows 3.x Windows 3.x can refer to either an individual or all of the following versions of Microsoft Windows:
Pricing and Availability Prism Directory Manager 2.5 will be available June 30 and is licensed for $40,000 for UNIX-based databases and $55,000 for DB2. The license fee includes the Information Directory and one Builder seat. Optional Navigator seats are available in sets of 10 for $5000. CASE import options or MetaLink options are licensed for $10,000 each. About Prism Solutions Founded in 1991, Prism Solutions (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on : PRZM PRZM Pesticide Root Zone Model ) is a leader in data warehouse management software for building, maintaining and navigating data warehouses. Prism Solutions' products and services enable a variety of projects, such as building decision-support systems, enhancing client/server applications and migrating data between different computing platforms. Prism Solutions helps customers meet strategic business goals through data warehousing See data warehouse. data warehousing - data warehouse solutions that support customer relationship management, profitability measurement, market segmentation Market Segmentation A marketing term referring to the aggregating of prospective buyers into groups (segments) that have common needs and will respond similarly to a marketing action. , risk management, procurement and other critical business applications. Prism Solutions' customers include leading companies in the finance, health care, insurance, manufacturing, public utilities, retail, telecommunications, transportation and technology industries. In addition to its corporate headquarters located in Sunnyvale, California Sunnyvale ([sʌniveil]) is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is one of the major cities that make up the Silicon Valley. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 131,760. , Prism Solutions has regional offices in seven U.S. cities and international offices in Canada, France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom. More information about Prism Solutions can be found by visiting the company's Web site at http://www.prismsolutions.com. -0- Note to Editors: MetaLink, PRISM, Prism Change Manager, Prism Directory Manager and Prism Warehouse Manager are trademarks of Prism Solutions, Inc. Other trademarks belong to their respective holders. CONTACT: Prism Solutions, Inc. Debbie Benoit or Cynthia Schmidt, 408/752-1888 dbenoit@prisminc.com or Blanc & Otus Mary Cobb, 415/512-0500 mcobb@bando.com |
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