IBM unveils Xperanto data integration technology

IBM on Tuesday will unveil beta releases of the first two products from its Xperanto federated data integration project, DB2 Information Integrator and DB2 Information Integrator for Content.

Supporting IBM's On Demand e-business initiatives, the two products are intended to help customers access, integrate, and analyze all forms of information across and beyond the enterprise, according to IBM. Big Blue's key message on its Xperanto products is that they allow businesses to access and integrate information in diverse locations as if it were stored in one place

While Information Integrator uses a SQL interface, Integrator for Content uses an object-oriented programming model for handling content in forms such as Java Beans or C++ objects, said Janet Perna, general manager of data management at IBM, in Somers, N.Y.

Although users will not need IBM's DB2 database to make the products function, the offerings are based on IBM's DB2 database optimizer technology for optimizing data integration, and also on IBM's federated database technology, which has been code-named Garlic and enables joining of data from multiple sources.

IBM beta cycles typically take six months, Perna said. Thus, DB2 Information Integrator and DB2 Information Integrator for Content will be generally available for shipment approximately by August.

The article continues at http://infoworld.com/article/03/02/04/HNinfoex_1.html