As with many other software developers, Ascential is adding 64-bit computing and expanded grid-enabled capabilities as well as continued development towards a service-oriented architecture.
To this end there are three product initiatives that Ascential will focus on over the next 24 months. Code-named Trinity, Hawk and Rhapsody, the products will be in released in 2004 and will expand on Ascentials current software offerings.
Combined, the products will look to provide an integrated view of data for better business analytics, enable the interoperability of applications and reduce the number of data sources that IT needs to understand in order to develop new applications—potentially a hint at a composite application platform.
Trinity, expected in mid 2004, will include expanded service-oriented architecture capabilities, 64-bit and expanded mainframe support and increased functionality for grid computing.
Hawk, expected late 2004, will include user interface upgrades, radio frequency identification (RFID) infrastructure support and a metadata services infrastructure.
Rhapsody is a next-generation platform that will bring greater manageability and scalability, officials said.
At the same time, Ascential announced the availability of its namesake DataStage TX, which will be incorporated into Ascentials Enterprise Integration Suite.
Formerly Mercator Inside Integration, DataStage TX transforms and routes data in transactional application environments and business processes. Geared toward consumer portals, B2B exchanges and trading partner networks, DataStage TX provides support for EDIFACT, HIPAA and X12 standards.
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