Westmont, IL May 7, 1998 Silvon Software, Inc., developer of the DataTracker packaged business intelligence/data warehousing system, today announced its support of the Microsoft® OLE DB for OLAP specification. According to the company, the decision to support the Microsoft standard was made to provide DataTracker customers the benefit of increased visualization and analysis capabilities as well as additional options for deploying DataTracker and its underscoring OLAP technology more broadly into the entire enterprise. The DataTracker OLE DB for OLAP connectivity is planned for availability during the fourth quarter of 1998.
The OLE DB for OLAP specification was announced by Microsoft in September 1997 to enable businesses to more easily realize the benefits associated with On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP) technology, which includes the opportunity to conduct sophisticated data analysis. OLE DB for OLAP essentially opens up multi-dimensional OLAP databases like DataTracker to off-the-shelf and third-party vendor visualization tools.
Silvon is one of several vendors who have endorsed the new standard. In addition, Silvon has agreed to create applications specifically targeted for use with Microsoft Office 9 and Microsoft's new OLAP server - code-named Plato. Planned for general availability in the second half of 1998, Plato is a hybrid OLAP server for the Windows NT platform. The DataTracker package creates an enterprise ROLAP data base and query environment ranging from 5GB to 500 GB supporting high volume, highly volatile analytical data imported daily from business transaction systems. Across the enterprise, departmental analysts will easily be able to create and deploy user-driven analysis scenarios in Plato MOLAP cubes using DataTracker as the multi-dimensional enterprise OLAP data source and Office 9 desktop tools for visualization. The DataTracker¾ Microsoft solution package provides medium to large corporations a means of measuring their business processes relative to goal across the extended enterprise.
"Silvon’s planned usage of OLE DB for OLAP is a great example of leveraging the Microsoft business intelligence strategy," said Steve Murchie, data warehousing product manager at Microsoft. "Through a single OLAP client interface, customers will be able to access both the rapidly changing information maintained by DataTracker and the less variable information managed by Plato."
"OLE DB for OLAP fills a long-standing need for a standard way to link large scale, high performance application-centric data marts like DataTracker with other popular desktop tools to create high-end business intelligence solutions, " said John Hughes, Silvon’s Senior Vice President of Marketing. "The new standard also offers a wider range of choices for access to DataTracker hosted on multiple server platforms like Windows NT, AS/400 and UNIX. This openness and multi-platform support will provide DataTracker customers with many choices that will scale to meet their business intelligence needs no matter what their current or future computing environments may be."
DataTracker is a high performance multi-platform 3 tier data mart package that includes data import, data mart creation/loading, data access through an OLAP engine, data distribution, and data visualization. The DataTracker software suite is being used to build business intelligence applications in all operational areas across the industrial supply chain by both Silvon and enterprise software vendors who integrate and embed Silvon’s data mart technology.
These applications, combined with minimal enabling services, provide a complete solution that can be implemented quickly and cost effectively. Hundreds customers worldwide have installed Silvon’s application data marts on Windows NT and the IBM AS/400 over the last 8 years.
Silvon Software is headquartered in the western Chicago suburb of Westmont, Illinois, and is the leading international provider of multi-platform business intelligence applications known as Application Data Marts targeted at the industrial supply chain. The company’s DataTracker software suite is currently installed in more than 900 sites worldwide and are supported by a network of OEMs, value-added resellers and independent distributors in throughout the world. Visit the Web site at http://www.datatracker.com or call 1-800-874-5866 for additional product information.