Data General Announces First Data Migration Tool Capable Of Converting Critical Information From MUMPS To Microsoft SQL Server 7.0
Data General today announced the MUMPS Data Extractor (MDE), a data migration product that helps users of the proprietary MUMPS computer language convert important data to SQL Sever 7. The MDE moves data from the MUMPS based FileMan system to any SQL Server 7.0 based data mart, data warehouse or replication database, enabling users to access and use critical patient and financial data. The MDE was developed by Strategic Reporting Systems, Inc. as part of a technology alliance with Data General.
In an early implementation of the MDE, Data General and Strategic Reporting Systems are helping the Veterans Administration Central Iowa Health Care System migrate MUMPS data from its VISTA application to SQL Server 7.0 on Data General AViiON NT Servers, so that users can use tools like ReportSmith and Microsoft Visual Basic for searching and reporting important patient information.
"This product enables us to respond to the needs of our patients, management, and organization better than any other product I've evaluated," said Jim E. Presley, Chief Information Officer at the Veterans Administration Central Iowa Health Care System, "In our first experience with the MDE, it took us only minutes to move an entire prescription file to a SQL Server database, and access lab data to see what costs existed in certain areas. We also quickly moved our entire patient database, sorted by county, and received information on where our patients come from, their age, and primary diagnosis. The MDE is usable right out of the box and provides the pathway from MUMPS to Microsoft, so we can do our jobs better, faster, smarter, and more efficiently."
"We saw a need in the Veterans Administration Hospitals to access financial and clinical data within the VISTA application," explains Michael J. Sutkowski, general manager of Data General's US Healthcare Division. "SQL Server 7.0 was our choice of database because it affords the user community the breadth and depth of tools needed to allow them to move data quickly and easily and move it throughout the enterprise."
The MDE can be used directly on the client for interactive data retrieval by the user. For larger jobs, from the server, the MDE has the capability to move large amounts of data into a Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 database, for quality control, performance-based management, or even data backup. The MDE is slated for general availability on November 15, 1999.