Framework Software Introduces Structure 2000 Suite, New Version of Enterprise Architecture Tools; Products Also Useful for Knowledge Management in Small and Large Businesses

Business Wire, Jan 10, 2000

Business Editors

BRECKENRIDGE, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 10, 2000

Framework Software Monday announced immediate availability of its Structure 2000 Suite(TM), the latest version of this document management system that implements basic principles of the Zachman Framework for Enterprise Architecture.

According to Tom Hokel, Framework Software Inc. (FSI) chief executive officer, the Structure 2000 Suite has several new features including ways for management to create electronic commerce frameworks around Internet, intranet and extranet applications. In addition, the product also incorporates Web-style search capabilities that allow the user to browse through any large pool of corporate artifacts and assign them to cells in frameworks for later retrieval and manipulation.

Users can assemble and assign artifacts into frameworks, or graphically arranged matrices supported by icons, that can launch the underlying application and document. Artifacts could be business plans, policy statements, other document files, models, training and reference material, multimedia products, Web sites and pages by URL, software tools, databases and even file folders.

"Many artifacts are housed at various locations in and outside of an enterprise and often without thought to their meaning or relationship to other parts of the enterprise," Hokel said. "Structure lets management assign them a digital reference location within a designated framework, and then let anyone with access rights draw on, examine and even modify these often strategic pieces of digital information."

Frameworks and artifacts can be nested into hierarchies, browsed and navigated like Web sites and imported as a starting point for another framework. Nested artifacts and frameworks are often critical in managing and configuring different versions of each.

Structure 2000 and Structure for the Net 2000, a Web-enabled version, are created around the concepts of the Zachman Framework, the de facto enterprise architecture standard schema developed by John A. Zachman, a former IBM executive and industry expert on enterprise architecture. System architects, enterprise consultants, knowledge management professionals and those in general management frequently use this architectural framework to plan, develop and organize a wide range of digital and text-based elements supported by a company's information systems group.

Hokel noted that some customers use Structure either as a front-end or a supplement for knowledge management and sharing systems within their organizations. "Structure compliments work flow and is set up much like a graphic-rich portal site," Hokel said. "Whether used by a government agency or a company, a framework can be the navigational and organizational element that brings strategic and tactical work-products together with one easy-to-use interface."

Structure is a two-tier architecture Windows product that can be run on PCs and over LANs. It includes a separate report writer database containing sample reports, which users can revise or augment with their own. The client-side of Structure for the Net uses Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer as the browser. The server side requires Allaire's ColdFusion Application Server 4.0 or higher, which may be hosted on a Windows or UNIX platform.

Microsoft Access is the most commonly used database management system under Structure, though other ODBC-compliant database systems can also be supported.

Hokel said that Structure functions as a powerful part of other software products and systems, too. Its intuitive and user-friendly interface and architecture can be a "plug-in" for intranet systems. It can also be configured as a front-end for repositories and data warehouses, tools commonly used by knowledge workers in large organizations.

Structure 2000 and Structure for the Net 2000, which are demonstrated at http://www.frameworksoft.com, are available worldwide for $495 and $5,995 USD, respectively. Registered users of Structure 3.0 and Structure for the Net 1.4 may upgrade to the 2000 versions for $49.95 and $495 USD, respectively, by sending an e-mail to Hokel at thokel@frameworksoft.com or calling 970/453-7293.