Sterling Software Announces VISION:Clearaccess 7.0 Featuring Support For Active X Controls
Sterling Software Inc.'s Information Management Division (IMD), a leading provider of business intelligence and data warehousing software, recently announced the release of VISION:Clearaccess 7.0 with Active X Controls giving developers working in any 32-bit environment the ability to make use of VISION:Clearaccess from within other Windows applications.
To give VISION:Clearaccess developers and administrators even more flexibility in providing for end users' needs, the new release offers a runtime version of VISION:Clearaccess. This scaled-down version allows users to run compiled scripts that have been specifically tailored to their information needs by an IT professional.
VISION:Clearaccess allows departmental end users, including those with no SQL experience, to access information in heterogeneous mainframe and client/server databases and create custom reports on their PC desktop computers. With the help of "wizards," users can build and distribute information ranging from simple queries to complex charts and multi-dimensional views of their business. They can perform data slicing, add dimensions and create and share other types of custom functions for use in ad hoc analysis.
"To meet the information requirements of end users, developers of 32-bit Windows applications need to be able to provide them with advanced query and reporting capabilities," stated Carole Morton, president of Sterling Software's Information Management Group. "The new Active X support makes it possible for developers to easily link their applications to the powerful features of VISION:Clearaccess."
The new Active X control provides end users with the full power of VISION:Clearaccess including the querying and reporting modules, and the charting and graphics engine.
The new runtime-only version transparently allows users to make use of virtually any of the functions of VISION:Clearaccess queries and scripts, including the optional ability to preview and print reports. The runtime version also provides the full functionality of the VISION:Clearaccess Report Writer, so users can create and modify their graphical presentations.
VISION:Clearaccess 7.0 has been designed exclusively for the Microsoft Windows 95, 98 and NT 4.0 or higher operating systems. In addition, to support its enhanced capabilities, the new release requires 32-bit client/server middleware. It no longer supports 16-bit middleware, even if the 16-bit middleware is installed on Windows 95, 98 or NT 4.0.
Earlier this year, Sterling Software announced VISION:Clearaccess heterogeneous database support for DB2 running on Windows NT, Solaris, OS/2, HP/UX and AIX. It also supports ODBC drivers, Oracle SQL, Sybase Open Client, Information Builders EDA/Client, and Uniprise DAL Client. DBMS support includes Oracle 7.3, Oracle 8.0, Microsoft SQL Server 6.5, Sybase 11, Informix 7.2, Powersoft's Sybase SQL, Anywhere 5.5 (formerly Watcom) and Centura's SQLBase 6.1 (formerly Gupta).
VISION:Clearaccess Key Features and Benefits include:
VISION:Clearmanage is a companion management environment for VISION:Clearaccess which enables IT professionals to help business users obtain information they need without overtaxing the database system and suffering frustrating delays in obtaining critical reports. The features within VISION:Clearmanage allow the IT department to create profiles of individual users and groups of users to ensure appropriate boundaries are set specifying who can access what data and when they can run queries. VISION:Clearmanage helps IT professionals manage information flow in order to avoid system performance issues that arise when various users schedule complex queries at the same time.
Sterling Software's Information Management Division, with headquarters in the Los Angeles area, provides solutions for global access to corporate data. IMD's products and services satisfy the data access, applications portfolio management and desktop integration needs of cross-industry users, regardless of business function. Further information about IMD's product offerings can be found on the division's web site at http://www.vision.sterling.com.
Sterling Software is a leading provider of software and services for the application development, information management, systems management and federal systems markets. The company is ranked among Business Week's 1998 "Info Tech 100" as one of the world's best performing information technology companies. Headquartered in Dallas, Sterling Software has a worldwide installed base of more than 20,000 customer sites and 3,700 employees in more than 90 offices worldwide. For more information on Sterling Software, visit the company's web site at http://www.sterling.com.