New Software from Ascential Designed to Make Data Management EasierNew Software from Ascential Designed to Make Data Management Easier

Ascential Software Corp. this week is unveiling new real-time integration software that lets enterprise applications tap into Ascential's data-quality management and data-transformation tools. Ascential Real-Time Integration Services offers capabilities similar to those provided by Informatica Corp. and webMethods Inc. through their recent product-development alliance, according to the vendor.

Ascential also revealed a new release of its flagship Ascential Enterprise Integration Suite, which includes data-profiling, data-quality management, data-transformation, parallel-processing, and metadata-management software—all used to integrate and format disparate data from multiple sources. Enhancements in release 7.0 include support for Red Hat Linux and IBM z/OS Unix systems, support for Unicode national language standards, and an "intelligent assistant" natural-language tool that guides developers through the process of building integration programs.

The new Ascential Real-Time Integration Services module uses Web services (.Net and Java), Enterprise JavaBeans, and Java Messaging Service standards to link applications, such as enterprise resource planning and customer-relationship management apps, with the Ascential Enterprise Integration Suite tools. That, for example, will let a business combine data from multiple supply chain systems, transform it into a consistent format, and load it into a single billing system, all in real-time.

In April, Informatica and webMethods debuted their Business Activity Platform software, combining Informatica's data extraction, transformation, and loading technology with webMethods' application-integration software.

Sears, Roebuck & Co., a member of Ascential's customer advisory board, helped guide the development of the real-time integration services software. The retailer already uses Ascential's data-integration software as part of its enterprise data warehouse system. "We really have come to rely on the tools to avoid writing custom programs for data movement," says Bill Fitzgerald, Sears' senior director of infrastructure architecture. Sears is testing the real-time product, which Fitzgerald says could be used to quickly combine sales data into flash reports for top executives.

Ascential Enterprise Integration Suite 7.0 and Ascential RTI Services are now in beta testing and will be available in July. Pricing for individual modules ranges from $90,000 to $180,000 while pricing for the complete suite starts at $450,000.