New Feature Provides SMB Users Seamless Integration With Microsoft⢠SQL Server®
NEW YORK, NY (February 04, 2009) –
Information Builders, the independent leader in operational business intelligence (BI) systems, today announced an agreement with IBM to expand the capabilities of IBM’s DB2 Web Query for i business intelligence solution, based on Information Builders’ WebFOCUS platform. The agreement with IBM is to provide a new DB2 Web Query Database Adapter feature, allowing DB2 Web Query to extend its reach by enabling report access to data sources other than DB2 for i. This new offering enhances reporting functionality and increases ease of use while minimizing installation, support and management, and overhead for users. It marks another key milestone in Information Builders and IBM’s joint roadmap for IBM’s DB2 Web Query for customers of the IBM i (previously named i5/OS).
The Database Adapter is designed to provide seamless connectivity to relational databases other than DB2 for i, allowing DB2 Web Query reports to include data from either a specific remote database or multiple remote instances of that database type. The initial Database Adapter enables access to Microsoft SQL Server(TM). Access to other relational database types will be offered in the future.
“In today’s business environment, small- and medium-sized companies need to get to all the data they have to make the best informed business decisions,” said Gerald Cohen, president and CEO of Information Builders. “The Database Adapter feature does just that by enhancing the reach of our common customer’s Web-based business intelligence applications.”
IBM DB2 Web Query for i has more than doubled its customer base in the past six months, shipping more than 20,000 licenses of the reporting tool. It supports a broad range of business intelligence applications and development environments, while leveraging the self-managing and query optimization features of DB2 for i.
“The new database adapter feature fulfills a high-priority requirement from our customers. While the majority of their data most likely resides in DB2 for i, the desire to have a single tool that also accesses non-DB2 databases without having to replicate data enhances productivity and keeps costs at a minimum,” said Doug Mack, Power Systems marketing manager at IBM. “Together with Information Builders, we plan to continue to extend our DB2 Web Query product with additional database connectivity enhancements in the future.”
The Database Adapter feature is slated for delivery in the first half of 2009 and will be available in beta mode in the first quarter.
About IBM
For more information on IBM, go to www.ibm.com/soa.
About Information Builders
As a leading independent business intelligence (BI) company for the past 30 years, Information Builders has provided innovative solutions to more than 12,000 customers, including most of the Fortune 100 and numerous U.S. federal government agencies. The company’s flagship WebFOCUS product is the world’s most widely used BI platform. Superior architecture and intuitive nature enables WebFOCUS to address the needs of everyone in the extended global enterprise – executive, analytical, operational, and beyond. It provides the agility to adapt to changing business conditions with the security, scalability, and flexibility to support dozens to millions of users.
Unique to the company is the integration expertise it brings to the BI market. Information Builders iWay Software suite solves complex integration problems with pre-built components that require minimal custom programming. The award-winning combination of WebFOCUS and iWay gives Information Builders customers the ability to embrace the company motto: “Everyone Makes Decisions.”
Information Builders is committed to customer service excellence with a Professional Services division that specializes in building custom applications using WebFOCUS and iWay Software. Headquartered in New York City with 90 offices worldwide, the company employs 1,450 people and has more than 350 business partners.
Source: Information Builders