Arbor Software and Red Brick integrate data warehouse with OLAP server; Essbase to serve as analytical data mart for Red Brick data warehouse

Business Wire, July 18, 1995

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 18, 1995--Arbor Software Corporation, the fastest growing provider of multidimensional database software for business planning analysis and management reporting, and Red Brick Systems, the leading provider of relational database products and service for data warehouse applications, today announced a cooperative effort to integrate Essbase as an analytical data mart within Red Bricks data warehouse blueprint.

The partnership, formalized through Red Bricks PaVER Program, will facilitate technical integration and provide strategic direction for customers who are combining the unique benefits of Red Bricks relational database with Arbors Essbase, a multidimensional database server.

Our relationship with Red Brick gives customers the ability to use Essbase databases as multidimensional data marts in their data warehouses, said Kirk Cruikshank, vice president of marketing for Arbor Software. Arbor and Red Brick have recognized each other as important, complementary components of a world-class open systems data warehousing strategy.

Red Bricks product strategy involves selecting best-of-breed partners for all extensions to our Universal Data Warehouse Blueprint, said AJ Brown, vice president of marketing for Red Brick. Arbor is clearly a leader in OLAP server technology and can offer Red Brick customers unique abilities for high impact analytic processing. This announcement is significant because some users and analysts have, in the past, viewed Arbor and Red Brick as competitors, said Richard Finkelstein, president of Performance Computing, Inc. This partnership should help the marketplace understand that Essbase and Red Brick Warehouse have distinct benefits that really complement each other in an overall data warehousing strategy.

PaVER vendors are best-of-breed developers of decision support, executive information and statistical analysis tools, and data warehousing utilities. PaVER vendors participate in Red Bricks overall data warehouse blueprint strategy including joint product planning and development. At the highest level of PaVER participation, Interlock partners provide native code support for Red Brick Warehouse RISQL, a set of extensions to ANSI-standard SQL to allow complex business analytics to be processed.

About Essbase

Essbase is used for planning and analysis applications which require a defined analytical structure, consolidated actual, projected, and derived data, multi-user, read/write data access and consistently fast response time regardless of database size. Typical applications include financial analysis, consolidation, and reporting, marketing and sales analysis, product profitability, manufacturing analysis, budgeting, forecasting, and executive information. Essbase operates effectively within a data warehousing strategy or as a standalone, departmental analytical solution. Essbase is supported on servers running Windows NT, OS/2 and UNIX across all major networks connected to Windows, Macintosh, and UNIX clients. Pricing starts at $43,250 for a multi-seat, five concurrent user license.

In two surveys conducted by META Groups Application Development Strategies Service, Arbors Essbase topped the list as the multidimensional database server most widely evaluated as part of a data warehousing strategy. The surveys queried MIS professionals attending the META Group/DCI Data Warehouse conferences in New York and Orlando, Florida held earlier this year.

About Arbor Software

Arbor Software Corporation develops and markets multidimensional database software for business planning, analysis and management reporting applications. Arbors products are used by more than 500 corporations spanning a broad range of industries and business analysis application, including Bank of America, Chemical Bank, Emery, Fidelity, Los Angeles Times, Neutrogena, Pennzoil, PEPSICO, and Prudential. Arbors products are sold direct, as well as through systems integrators and VARs worldwide. Arbor has alliances and partnerships with numerous companies, including Andyne, Cognos, Comshare, Hewlett-Packard, Hogan Systems, Microsoft, Trinzic, and Walker Interactive Systems. Arbors offices are located in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Sunnyvale, Washington D.C., and London.

About Red Brick Systems

Red Brick Systems is the leading provider of relational database products and service for data warehouse applications. The company, based in Los Gatos, Calif., specializes in software products used for fast, accurate and confident business decisions where large client/server databases are the norm, from five gigabytes to a terabyte or more in size with hundreds of millions to billions of records. These applications require historical context, and accurate, timely analysis of complex data relationships for both consolidated and detailed business information. -0-

Note to Editors: Essbase is a registered trademark of Arbor Software Corporation. All other product names are trademarks of their respective companies.