Railpart Selects Ardent DataStage SAP Extract PACK

Informix Corporation, a technology leader in software infrastructure for the i.Economy, announced that it has completed implementation of Ardent DataStage Extract-Packaged Application Connection Kit (PACK) for SAP R/3 for Railpart, the United Kingdom's largest supplier of parts for the rail transportation industry. Ardent DataStage Extract PACK significantly advances Railpart's ability to effectively monitor and measure customer relationship management efforts by examining critical performance data.

Railpart was originally the national supply center for British Rail, one of the world's most extensive railroad networks, until 1997 when it became a private company. This transition forced Railpart for the first time to vie for former British Rail business with other companies and extend its customer base.

To succeed, Railpart set about preparing itself for competition. A crucial first step in this process was upgrading Railpart's IT infrastructure from a mainframe system to the SAP R/3 solution to enhance its enterprise resource management. Railpart began using Ardent DataStage two years ago to extract and move data. Based largely on the company's excellent experience with Ardent DataStage, Railpart selected the Ardent DataStage SAP Extract PACK to capture and maximize the value of data stored within the SAP R/3 system.

"We chose Ardent DataStage because it provided the right mix of reliability, cost-effectiveness and a proven track record in the data integration arena. The SAP Extract PACK promises to make Ardent DataStage the most complete solution on the market at a very competitive price," according to Andy Howell, assistant systems controller for Railpart.

Before the implementation of Ardent DataStage Extract PACK for SAP R/3, moving data from a SAP environment was both clumsy and costly, requiring custom code generation. Using the Informix solution, running, extracting, and importing data to Railpart's LAN from SAP R/3 is a one-step process. Data extraction and analysis is now done in a time- and cost-efficient manner and data from Railpart's SAP R/3 environment can be merged quickly and seamlessly with data from multiple sources. Ardent DataStage helps Railpart manage business and technical meta data while extracting, transforming and loading data into local data warehouses.

"It is important that companies using SAP and other ERP solutions maximize the value of data generated by those systems and existing legacy systems in their business intelligence and analytical applications. When managed successfully, as in the case of Railpart, this information provides valuable operational insight and improves performance," said Mikael Wipperfeld, vice president, business intelligence marketing, Informix.

About Railpart (UK) Ltd

Railpart can be found on the World Wide Web at www.railpart.com.

About Ardent DataStage

Ardent DataStage Suite is a platform independent information infrastructure solution supporting e-business, data warehousing, enterprise portal, and business intelligence applications. Ardent DataStage provides native access to mainframe, client/server, and Internet environments; data quality assurance capabilities; Internet business data integration and Web analytics; and full lifecycle meta data management; all complemented by industry-leading professional services.

About Informix

Informix Software is a technology leader in software infrastructure solutions for the Internet -- providing a fast, simple and complete way to bring businesses to the Web. Based in Menlo Park, Calif., Informix is the first and only company to integrate e-commerce and business intelligence on a true Internet infrastructure. The company's highly scalable Web engines, together with its personalized content management, real-time analytics and media asset management capabilities, offer customers a unique competitive advantage. For more information, contact the nearest sales office or visit the Web site at www.informix.com.

Contact Informix Corporation, Melora Foley 650-926-6443 melora.foley@informix.com or Miller Consulting Group Inc, RJ Bardsley 617-262-1800 x225 rj@millergrp.com.