Software AG Announces Industry's First Data Warehouse Automation Product: SourcePoint Speeds Implementation and Maintenance of Data Warehouses Through Innovative Parallel Data Acquisition Technology

Business Wire, July 12, 1995

RESTON, Va--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 12, 1995--Software AG, a leading provider of data warehouse solutions, today announced the shipping of SourcePoint, the industry's first product to automate the extraction, transport and population of a data warehouse delivering substantial time savings in the development and maintenance of a data warehouse. This savings is provided through an innovative Parallel Data Acquisition technology which simultaneously extracts, transports and loads data into the warehouse, significantly reducing the amount of time required to populate a data warehouse.

Previously, data warehouse implementors had to manually extract, transport and load the warehouse, a time-consuming, storage-hungry process. With data warehouses growing larger and batch windows for populating data warehousing growing smaller, SourcePoint offers the ability to automate the processes in a shorter amount of time.

"SourcePoint is truly a breakthrough product for the market it offers customers the first opportunity for a streamlined data warehouse operation and uses parallel data acquisition technology to reduce the traditional warehouse population methods by up to 60 percent," said Michele Perry, general manager of Software AG's Data Warehousing Division. "SourcePoint is a critical element in Software AGIs long-term, comprehensive Data Warehouse offerings and furthers our total commitment to provide innovative technology for customers that reduce the complexity and burden of building and maintaining a data warehouse."

Additional SourcePoint Features:

Announcing Parallel Data Acquisition:

SourcePoint eliminates the serial process of building a data warehouse, through its new Parallel Data Acquisition technology. This technology automates the extraction, transport, and the population of the data warehouse. SourcePoint uses advanced parallel technology speeding the process, and eliminating the need to store temporary files before the next process can begin.

DBMS-Independent:

SourcePoint provides investment protection by isolating the target DBMS from the extraction and transport mechanism. As a result, the target DBMS can change without changing the extraction programs and procedures. It essentially makes the database "plug-compatible."

Reduces Data Externalization:

SourcePoint minimizes the need to create files, reduces the potential for errors, and ensures the integrity of the data while reducing storage requirements. The parallel data acquisition technology minimizes data externalization providing a three-to-one reduction in storage requirements.

Supports Popular Extract Methods:

SourcePoint supports the Passport extract method and extracts written in NATURAL, COBOL or C programming languages. SourcePoint has a published API that enables third-party extraction products to be seamlessly integrated into the data warehouse automation.

Ease-of-Use:

SourcePoint's Windows-based user interface provides a user-friendly, effective method for set-up and administration, and is easily integrated into heterogeneous environments.

SourcePoint supports UNIX -- the most popular target for warehouse data and is also available on the following platforms: MVS, VSE, and Windows. SourcePoint is protocol independent with intelligent bridging and routing. SourcePoint 1.1 is available July, 1995, with pricing dependent on communications options, ranging from $30,000 to $129,000.

Software AG is the first major software vendor to offer an open, comprehensive data warehouse program that includes a complete set of integrated products and services. The Open Data Warehouse Program offers developers a choice of off-the-shelf, custom, and semi-custom integrated products and service components to build a high quality data warehouse at a lower cost and with less risk than if the developer were to purchase the products separately and do the integration in-house.

Today, Software AG's Open Data Warehouse Program products include: NATURAL Engineering Workbench for data modeling; NATURAL and Passport(R)(a) for data extraction, mapping and transformation; ENTIRE NET-WORK and ENTIRE ACCESS for data access; ADABAS for data management; SourcePoint for warehouse management and automation; ESPERANT for end-user queries; ESPERANT MetaLinc Browser for Passport for meta data access and browsing; NETMAP(R)(a) for data mining; DSS Agent-TM(a) for multidimensional analysis, and a complete range of services, training and coaching for end-users and implementors.

Software AG, with primary locations in Reston, Virginia and Darmstadt, Germany, is one of the largest independent software firms in the world. The company develops and markets open, multi-platform product solutions and programs including: ENTIRE middleware for data access and data transfer, NATURAL(c) for application engineering, ESPERANT, a state-of-the-art SQL query and reporting tool, ADABAS for database management, and the Open Data Warehouse Program(d).

Founded in 1969, Software AG has customers in over 80 countries, and reported revenues of $533 million (U.S.) dollars in 1994.