Ranger Forms Backbone for Distributed Integration Solution to Address Data Warehousing Problems
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Inventure, a leading provider of innovative solutions for the securities and investment industry, has announced the release of its latest version of RANGER. RANGER embeds the Java programming language within the RANGER engine. By using the emerging cross-platform software standard -- Java, RANGER customers can create a Distributed Integration solution. Distributed Integration is a new platform designed to address the data warehousing challenges unique to the securities and investment industry.

"The securities and investment industry demands faster, more flexible solutions than data warehousing can provide," said Michael Adam, executive chairman of Inventure. "Analysts in the securities and investment sector must integrate historical, intra-day and daily time-series data from multiple sources, analyze it, then quickly and easily distribute output to users. The Distributed Integration solution enabled by RANGER, allows the benefits promised by data warehousing to be delivered more quickly and at lower cost."

Distributed Integration solves problems faced by every company operating in the financial markets: seamless integration of multiple databases regardless of their format or physical location; rapid data access and caching; powerful analytics; and sophisticated visualization tools. At the same time, Distributed Integration addresses the industry's need for a scalable, flexible, fast and easy-to-implement solution.

"Data Warehousing in the securities and investment industry is extremely difficult due to vast product diversity and complexity," said Larry Tabb, director, securities and investments practice at The Tower Group. "The beauty of Distributed Integration is that it not only deals with the complex data and analytics found in securities and investments, but takes advantage of existing technology and infrastructure to create a virtual data warehouse with relative speed and ease."

"RANGER provides a competitive advantage to quantitative analysts. Distributed Integration through RANGER will free analysts from the drudgery of acquiring data and analytics so that they can spend more time on added-value analysis, " added Adam. "And this solution allows them to distribute results quickly and easily to more people in more compelling, usable and interactive forms."

The Distributed Integration solution is a scalable and flexible solution to the complex information requirements of the securities and investment industry. Unlike traditional data warehousing, Distributed Integration solutions can be implemented quickly and incrementally. It is also flexible enough to deal with changing business requirements as a business evolves.

Distributed Integration allows interaction with corporate data to look and feel like interaction on the Internet. It does not require that all data be stored in a single location, but allows the data to reside where it originates. Specific information may be maintained by local interest groups, but the total corporate information base acts like a single, integrated data source. The RANGER server takes advantage of Internet server cluster organization and data caching techniques and is configured for extreme scalability.

Through RANGER, Distributed Integration takes advantage of existing hardware and software, reducing training, hardware and software costs. End-users access the data from any desktop that has access to the server through a standard Web browser or through special RANGER-enabled applications.

The new version of RANGER takes advantage the latest release of the Java Virtual Machine. Previously, RANGER relied on a powerful but proprietary Object Scripting Language to deliver functionality and connectivity. Now RANGER customers can take advantage of the Java platform to provide application developers with the latest development and integration tools.

"Worldwide Java computing makes solutions like Distributed Integration possible," said Steve Katzman, global industry manager of capital markets, Sun Microsystems, Inc. "Before Java technology, companies relied on closed solutions that hindered integrating and distributing information throughout an organization. In today's networked world, Java solutions like RANGER allow organizations to leverage the Internet to gain a competitive edge in core business activities."

A Java Component Library has been introduced with this release of RANGER. The Java Component Library, included in the RANGER Application Developer's Kit, is a set of common GUI components, such as charts, tables, histograms, regressions, that can be incorporated into any custom developed application.

These components were developed through a partnership with Random Walk Computing ( http://www.randomwalk.com ), a leading Java development and consulting organization in the financial industry. "Java's distributed architecture technology is opening up the power of network computing, allowing organizations to apply their technology resources where they are needed," said Eric Lehrfeld, director of business development for Random Walk. "RANGER further capitalizes on the concept of distributed architecture providing an innovative new approach to the access and deployment of a firms value-added resources, we are excited about the opportunity to provide complimentary development resources for the RANGER team."

The RANGER suite of tools now includes the RANGER Server, RANGER BarTender Server for the creation and maintenance of intra-day data stores, RANGER Gateway, RANGER Application Developer's Kit (ADK) and Integration Development Kit (IDK), and a set of unique RANGER add-ins designed specifically for quantitative analysts and traders in Microsoft Excel, MathWorks MatLab and MathSoft S-PLUS.

The RANGER Server is an Internet server that integrates historical, intra-day and daily time-series data, MetaData, analytics and applications. The RANGER Gateway, a RANGER API, allows communication between a RANGER server and desktop workstations, allowing a wide range of applications to access a firm's RANGER-enabled data around the world.

RANGER's ADK, also available in a version for Microsoft ActiveX, allows developers to navigate, access and manipulate data and analytics that are visible through RANGER Servers. The RANGER IDK allows developers to integrate data and analytical resources and expose them through RANGER servers.

RANGER add-ins make it possible for the end-user to view information on their familiar desktop applications through the RANGER Server. The stateless connections to the servers are controlled by the RANGER Gateway. These RANGER-enabled applications running on RANGER-enabled workstations transform simple desktop applications into powerful analytic browsers. In addition to the add-ins Inventure has developed for the popular Excel, MatLab, and S-PLUS, companies can develop their own add-ins in the Visual Basic, C++ or Java programming languages using the ADK. End-users may also view data and analytics directly in their Web browser through active Web pages.

RANGER is available now for both the Microsoft Windows NT and Sun Microsystems Solaris' platforms. The Excel add-in is available now. The MatLab and S-PLUS add-ins will be available in August 1998. For more information, visit Inventure at http://www.rangersoftware.com