REPEAT/Mercator for R/3 certified by SAP for R/3 Application Link Enabling; TSI technology simplifies integration of R/3 systems with third-party and legacy applications

Business Wire, May 13, 1996

WILTON, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 13, 1996--Mercator for R/3, new software technology from TSI International for integrating SAP's R/3 with external applications, has become the first translator product certified by SAP for Application Link Enabling (ALE).

ALE is SAP's strategic direction for integrating loosely-coupled applications with R/3. Mercator for R/3 eliminates the need to write custom programs for ALE data conversion tasks, substantially reducing the time and cost of implementing distributed systems.

Mercator for R/3 features an innovative graphical mapping environment that provides a cost-effective alternative to writing interface programs. R/3 customers and third-party software providers can use this environment to create R/3 linkages that are easy to define and maintain. These linkages are fully integrated with the R/3 messaging system for ALE.

The Mercator for R/3 execution environment supports all major SAP platforms.

"TSI's technology is an important addition to the third-party toolset now being created for ALE," remarked Heinz-Ulrich Roggenkemper, Director of Development at SAP. "Mercator for R/3 provides a single environment for managing interfaces to external systems, and translation and mapping services to help automate the linkage process. We look forward to TSI's participation as an SAP partner."

Mapping between R/3 and external application formats is done through an easy- to-use drag-and-drop interface. Graphical descriptions of R/3 formats, known as Intermediate Documents (IDocs), are created automatically, simplifying the data mapping process.

Data formats for external systems are defined graphically through the Mercator for R/3 user interface. Certain formats, such as COBOL copybooks and descriptions of relational databases, can be converted to graphical form automatically.

Connectivity to the ALE messaging environment is supported for both inbound and outbound R/3 messages. Mercator for R/3 makes use of SAP's asynchronous remote function calls to ensure effective and secure communications between external systems and R/3. Detailed knowledge of remote function calls is not required to create R/3 interfaces that are reliable, efficient, and easy to maintain.

Mercator for R/3 can also be used for data transformation projects outside of ALE. These include legacy data conversion, creation of custom data bridges, and implementation of EDI. The system supports mapping of multiple data sources to multiple destinations in a single step, map execution in realtime or batch mode, and the embedding of data transformation within applications.

Mercator for R/3 is based on TSI's Mercator technology, now in use in over 800 customer sites worldwide. Mercator operates on over 14 different computing platforms including PC, UNIX, NT, midrange, and mainframe systems. Customers include American Express, Henkel Chemical, CompuServe, Hoechst, Discovery Networks, Home Savings of America, and Canadian National Railroad.

TSI International is a leading supplier of software for electronic commerce and electronic data integration. TSI products include systems for EDI translation and management, middleware for integrating electronic data with computer applications, and pre-built desktop solutions for entire trading communities. Today, TSI software is installed in over 10,000 sites worldwide by companies conducting business electronically or integrating external data with the core applications of their business.

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http://www.tsisoft.com

CONTACT: Steve Rosen

TSI International

800-338-4194