Informatica and Partners Launch Web-Based Resource; Provides Valuable Information about Metadata and its Critical Role in Enabling Enterprise Decision Support
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Informatica Corporation, provider of one of the leading software platforms for powering enterprise business intelligence and analytic applications, has launched metadataexchange.com (http://www.metadataexchange.com), a Web site designed to provide data warehousing professionals with valuable information on metadata exchange and management, one of the most critical aspects of deploying and managing enterprise decision support systems.

Co-sponsored by leading decision support vendors Business Objects, Cognos, Seagate Technology and Anubis, the metadataexchange.com site is separated into three key content areas:

• Metadata resource center. This section includes a top-to-bottom metadata "primer" and links to relevant industry organizations and trade magazines, online articles written by today's leading data warehousing experts, white papers and other metadata-related Web sites.
• White paper library. The first in a series of planned white papers, "The Case for a Decision Support Metadata Strategy" presents an overview of the key functions and components behind an effective business intelligence metadata strategy.
• Industry snapshot. Find out more about the metadata-related products and services developed by Informatica and its decision support partners.

"As organizations have increasingly turned to enterprise data warehouses, line-of-business data marts and analytic applications to leverage operational data for end user analysis, the importance of metadata integration among the various decision support tools within the enterprise has grown substantially," said David Downing, vice president of marketing at Informatica Corporation. "Informatica and its partners have introduced metadataexchange.com to help data warehousing professionals educate themselves on the role of metadata integration in enterprise decision support solutions, and to help them sort the facts from the hype regarding what is available today."

The debut of metadataexchange.com corresponds with Informatica's announcement that the next generation of its Metadata Exchange toolkit (MX2) is now commercially available. MX2 extends the capabilities of Informatica's original Metadata Exchange (MX) toolset, and delivers the industry's first object-based API (application programming interface) to enable metadata exchange.

MX2 has garnered significant industry support from leading business intelligence tool companies including Anubis, Brio Technology, Business Objects, Cognos, Hummingbird Communications, Hyperion Solutions, Information Advantage, Viador, Microsoft Corp., MicroStrategy and Seagate Software.

About Informatica Corporation

Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Informatica develops and markets enterprise software products and services that enable many of the world's largest companies to build and manage business intelligence and analytic applications across the enterprise. Informatica has more than 400 Global 2000 customers worldwide, and maintains partnerships with Cambridge Technology Partners, EDS, Ernst & Young, Microsoft, PeopleSoft, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, SAP AG and Siemens Business Services. For more information, call 800-653-3871, or visit Informatica's Web site at http://www.informatica.com.