SolutionsIQ Ships Universal Data Access Tool
ACTION ITEMS
SolutionsIQ, a leading supplier of universal data access tools, announced first customer shipments of CONNX 7.0, billed as the first truly universal "datapump. "
The newly-architected CONNX 7.0 is open standards-based data access software that provides PC clients with secure, real-time read/write access to multiple heterogeneous databases. With this announcement, CONNX 7.0 supports RDB and DBMS databases, in addition to RMS and DataFlex databases. The company will also ship UNIX Sequential File System, Oracle and DB2 versions in 1998.
Plans to support other popular database applications such as Sybase and Informix are also in place.
CONNX provides PC clients with real-time access to multiple heterogeneous data sources, without the need for lengthy or expensive programming or re-engineering of existing systems. Using a standard query tool, such as Microsoft Access, Impromptu, Crystal Report Writer or Visual Basic, PC users can access critical decision-support information from on-line transactional systems.
CONNX 7.0 supports unlimited table joins in one SQL statement, allowing the user to work with information that is located on different systems. This real-time access presents a significant advantage over data warehouses, where data must be migrated to the data warehouse from the on-line system.
This information is, effectively, out-of-date the minute that it is migrated. In addition to standard report writers, CONNX also supports C++ or any standard development environment.
CONNX 7.0: Security and Flexibility
Data is protected through the use of role-level security. Users are given access to certain datasets, depending on their job classification and other factors. Degrees of access can be specified for individual users or for groups of users.
A password-protected data dictionary maintains the organization's role definitions and is easily set up and updated using CONNX 7.0's new Administration Wizard and a friendly graphical user interface. With CONNX 7.0, dictionary files are compressed and encrypted to provide fast and secure access for administrators.
"By providing secure access to multiple databases from a standard PC client, CONNX 7.0 solves one of the biggest challenges facing organizations-helping people to make better, faster decisions based on up to the minute, accurate information," said Mick Gapay, director of the Software Products Division for SolutionsIQ.
"This is a breakthrough solution for IS departments that want to leverage the value of the data located in their legacy and other transactional databases. CONNX is essentially a universal datapump, making it easy for corporations to tap into pools of information that were previously hard to access."
CONNX 7.0 provides very fast access to data, an important feature for users in enterprise-class, real-world database environments. SolutionsIQ has optimized the software for performance using the company's COFTA (CONNX Fast Table Access) technology. Much of the processing is performed by the client, reducing the burden on the server.
This newest version of CONNX performs sorts for users approximately 350% faster than earlier versions (specific measurements are dependent on the size of the datasets), and is billed as outperforming the Oracle RDB driver up to 500%, depending on the type of query and complexity of the joins between databases.
Ease of use has also been addressed through the introduction of several new Wizards, which make set-up fast and almost effortless. The Administrator Wizard presents system administrators with a series of questions via the graphical user interface, which are quickly answered. The Wizard then creates a data dictionary and generates a sample database for immediate use.
The new Front End Wizard walks users through the process of creating a report using real data. There are also Front End Wizards for Microsoft Access, Impromptu, Crystal Report Writer and Visual Basic.
CONNX Allows Access for Internet-based Clients
To support the rapidly-increasing use of the Internet, CONNX 7.0 also allows Internet-based clients to access multiple data sources. Using a standard browser and standard server-based JDBC to ODBC bridge technology, clients can access CONNX-based databases over the Internet. Future versions of CONNX will support a pure Java applet that will allow clients to access databases using native Internet technologies including Java and JDBC.
About CONNX
CONNX is universal data access software that enables companies to integrate multiple disparate databases with popular PC data access tools. With CONNX, an organization can use query tools, such as Microsoft Visual Basic, ACCESS or Crystal Report Writer to present users with decision support information extracted from multiple transactional databases.
Unlike data warehousing products that require the IS department to physically move data from the transactional system to a relational database, CONNX enables users to extract data directly from transaction database sources. Because it is based on industry-standard Open Data Base Connectivity (ODBC) driver technology, CONNX provides organizations simultaneous access to multiple, disparate databases through a single driver, while presenting end-users with a single, consistent front-end.
CONNX is designed for business-critical production environments, and performs a number of performance enhancing tasks, including SQL optimization on single and multi-keyed indexes and during multi-table joins. By off-loading much of the processing required for data extraction to the PC, CONNX minimizes the impact of data extraction on the transactional system.
Practical Details
CONNX 7.0 is available now on CD-ROM from which customers can access the entire CONNX suite of products with the appropriate licensing. Costs begin with a single-user license at $1,295. Support prices are based on the type of plan selected.
For more information, see http://www.solutionsiq.com