Spotfire Ships Industry's First XML-Configurable eAnalytic Application for Enterprise Value Chains

Business Wire, July 23, 2001

Business/Technology Editors

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 23, 2001

Spotfire(R) DecisionSite(TM) 6.2 Provides Global 1000 End Users with The Fastest, Most Productive User Experience for Making Decisions

Spotfire, Inc., a leading provider of Web-based eAnalytic applications and services, today introduced Spotfire DecisionSite 6.2, the company's most powerful eAnalytic application to date. Spotfire DecisionSite 6.2 allows users to configure an unlimited number of eAnalytic applications that automate decision-making activities across value chains in the enterprise. Enterprise value chains encompass a web of people, information, and activities that run businesses and manage products across business functions including R&D, Manufacturing, Distribution, Finance, and Market Research.

Global 1000 companies, where eBusiness initiatives are now across entire value chains, are faced with major problems of: understanding huge volumes of different types of data; simultaneously accessing and relating data within and across business activities; capturing and managing best decision practices; and the overall complexity of current analytic tools and IT systems. Each DecisionSite eAnalytic application is powered by an XML-based information interaction platform and XML-configurable suite of role-based analytics and tools that offer users a fast, easy way to browse information. This offers Spotfire customers one common, consistent eAnalytic platform to quickly automate decision making functions across information intensive enterprise value chains.

"Spotfire's DecisionSite is demonstrating the potential to reduce cycle time by simplifying the process of integrating large amounts of information crucial to the analyses we conduct as we progress with the oil discovery process," said Ron Bain, Manager, International Exploration at Anadarko Petroleum. "Specific tools such as Map IS allow critical geo-technical and engineering attributes drawn from multiple, complex databases to be analyzed and visualized within a geographical context, a capability which significantly accelerates the transition of data to knowledge. In turn, more information can then be evaluated which leads to more accurate assessment of exploration opportunities." Anadarko is a strategic development advisor assisting with the product definition of DecisionSite Map Interaction Services for the oil and gas industry.

"Our research indicates that users are beginning to appreciate some of the limitations of traditional business intelligence tools," said Doug Laney, Vice President, Application Delivery Strategies, META Group. "Over the next couple of years, we believe many enterprises will realize greater and more sustainable return-on-investment from analytic applications that encompass sophisticated data integration capabilities and cross-functional analytics."

"Spotfire DecisionSite 6.2 equips decision makers with a powerful browser that dynamically visualizes, analyzes and simultaneously relates product, process and customer information," said David Butler, Vice President, Product Strategy and Marketing at Spotfire. "The result - our customers can discover the relationships and the secrets about their data which lead to faster, and smarter decisions."

The new version of Spotfire DecisionSite offers a combination of innovative, configurable eAnalytic and user experiences and takes into account customers' unique decision-making needs, adjusting as business change and growth dictate. New features and functionality include:

-- XML-based application manager: provides a configurable interface to Guides,
Tools, Resources, and the Information Library.

-- Solaris platform support and common user administration tool: DecisionSite
6.2 Servers now support both Solaris and Windows NT platforms and use a new
user administration tool.

-- Information links: Enables users with the ability to create any information
link and access any data source without having SQL knowledge normally necessary
to interrogate and process data in relational databases.

-- Native table display: Introduces tables as a native, visualization display,
allowing users to view all of their relevant content in a simple spreadsheet
view.

-- Multiple usability enhancements: Recognized for its ability to provide a
simple yet highly efficient user experience, Spotfire has continued to augment
end-user aspects for the product, offering an improved user interface, more
intuitive menu options and enhanced navigational, editing and exporting
capabilities.

-- Pre-configured eAnalytic applications (see companion press release):
Spotfire DecisionSite 6.2 also provides the platform for the new
pre-configured, role-based applications, also announced today form Spotfire.
These pre-configured DecisionSites include Spotfire DecisionSite for Functional
Genomics(TM), Spotfire(R) DecisionSite for Lead Discovery(TM), Spotfire(R)
DecisionSite for Process Analysis(TM), Spotfire(R) DecisionSite Map Interaction
Services(TM).

Spotfire has been transforming the end user experience to enable a broad adoption of information visualization, analytics, and data browsing through domain specific applications since its inception with a solution that leads to faster, better and more accurate decisions.