DBMS Client/Server Connection - May 1995 DBMS Client/Server Connection - May 1995A couple of recent surveys from Forrester Research Inc. (Cambridge, Mass.) show some interesting statistics about Fortune 1000 companies and client/server technology. First, large companies are eager to move their core applications -- such as financials and manufacturing -- to client/server. Forrester interviewed 51 Fortune 1000 senior IS managers and found that 84 percent expect to implement core client/server applications within three years. Of those moving to client/server, 43 percent will purchase client/server application packages; the remaining 57 percent expect to write their own or migrate in a step-wise fashion from their legacy systems to client/server.
Another Forrester survey found that corporate-wide data warehouses are "relics of old IT practices." Because global data warehouses are often unused or ignored by end users who have neither the time nor training to navigate through them, desktop tools plus "data marts" are better suited to corporate data access needs. Data marts are specialized databases targeted at specific departments for decision-support queries. (For a more detailed discussion of data mart technology, see Marc Demarest's article, "Building the Data Mart," in the July 1994 issue of DBMS.)
Forrester interviewed 50 Fortune 1000 companies for the data warehouse report. Most of these companies plan to implement focused data marts rather than enterprise-wide data warehouses in the future. For more information or copies of these reports, contact Forrester Research Inc., 617-497-7090.
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Unisys Corp.(Blue Bell, Pa.) announced in February that it has acquired TopSystems International, a European company with a suite of object- and repository-based application development tools for distributed environments. TopSystems' management, personnel, technology, and products will form the cornerstone of USoft, a new software company dedicated to delivering open systems software for a variety of platforms. USoft will be based in Brisbane, Calif.
USoft will take a "server/client" approach to computing, based on a server-centric, dynamic repository that contains the relevant data to model and manage the business. According to company representatives, server/client computing will pick up where client/server leaves off, providing productivity and flexibility to all levels of the enterprise while taking advantage of the power and responsiveness of graphical client platforms. Over the next few months, USoft will be pushing its Plan, Build, and Manage software products into U.S. sales channels. USoft Corp., 800-367-8763.
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Platinum Technology Inc. (Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.) has made a series of alliances and acquisitions in recent months to position itself as the leading vendor of open system software. It announced in February that it will acquire BrownStone Solutions Inc. (New York), a provider of client/server repository and data warehouse technology for LAN and mainframe environments.
The BrownStone acquisition is an integral component of Platinum Technology's open enterprise systems management (OESM) strategy. OESM ties the management functions of both MVS and open client/server systems together. To this end, the company also recently acquired ViaTech Development Inc. (Bloomington, Minn.), a provider of electronic software distribution tools in open, Unix-based environments; AutoSystems Corp. (Boulder, Colo.), a supplier of Unix job-management tools; and Trinzic Corp. (Palo Alto, Calif.), a supplier of middleware and gateway technology.
According to Platinum President and CEO Andrew J. Filipowski, "Platinum is attacking the widening blind spots of the systems management market dominated today by companies such as Computer Associates and Legent. Old-line mainframe software suppliers and newer companies coming mainly out of the Unix world are scrambling to deliver solutions that integrate multiple computing platforms and operating systems, stated Filipowski. As evidenced by its most recent spate of announcements, Platinum Technology intends to fill the holes in its product lines by buying companies or making strategic alliances. Platinum Technology Inc., 708-620-5116.
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As developers move their client/server applications from development to deployment, they need to ensure that they work. Therefore, SQA Inc. (Woburn, Mass.) is working with several vendors to provide integrated testing/development solutions. SQA TeamTest is a software suite built on a networked Test Repository that lets users create, execute, and manage automated tests for Windows-based client/server applications. It will be integrated with Symantec Corp.'s (Cupertino, Calif.) Symantec Team Enterprise Developer, and Borland International's new Delphi application development environment. In addition, SQA will assist Oracle Corp. (Redwood Shores, Calif.) in jointly developing an API for test tools that will integrate Oracle's Developer/2000 and Designer/2000 products (see below) and TeamTest. SQA Inc., 800-228-9922.
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Praxis International Inc. (formerly CCA; Cambridge, Mass.), a company that helps customers design and implement data warehouses, announced the acquisition of Power Thinking Tools Inc. (Northhampton, Mass.), a multidimensional database company. Praxis will incorporate Power Thinking's technology directly into its OmniArchitecture series, bolstering its OmniWarehouse with complex query and analysis capabilities.
Erik Thomsen, former president of Power Thinking Tools, will assume Praxis' newly created position of technical director of information analysis. Thomsen is the inventor of the located-content data modeling paradigm, and the designer of FreeThink, a data modeling and analysis tool based on that paradigm. Praxis International Inc., 617-661-9790.
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Oracle Corp. (Redwood Shores, Calif.) recently split its CDE2 tools strategy into two new bundles for model-driven development: Developer/2000 and Designer/2000. Developer/2000 includes the core CDE2 tools, such as Oracle Forms, Oracle Reports, Oracle Procedure Builder, and APIs. Designer/2000 incorporates business process reengineering, system analysis, software design, and code generation tools, such as Oracle Process Modeler, Systems Modeler, Systems Designer, Forms Generator, Reports Generator, and others. Both bundles will be integrated through an object-based repository. Both packages are currently available for Windows and cost $3995 each. Oracle Corp., 415-506-7000.