Semantic Integration

Achieve Semantic Alignment of Enterprise Data and Services

What makes semantic data integration a challenge for today's enterprise is that the representation of information and the information itself are often bound too tightly together. Even worse, the information frequently lacks meaningful context. So, while the word "semantic" most often pertains to the different meanings of words or other symbols - semantic change or semantic confusion - semantic data integration attempts to put content in context with automated product data quality which will ultimately result in the semantic alignment of data and services. When enterprises are faced with the challenge of integrating multiple applications, databases and processes, they look to Progress Software for the best semantic integration solution.

Progress Software Delivers Semantic Data Integration Solutions

In tightly-coupled enterprise infrastructures, complex data structures are absolutely necessary because they provide systems a way of coping with the information they are being fed. However, in a standards-based, loosely coupled architecture (such as an SOA), when the barriers to application integration are removed, instead of being helpful constructs, these various data structure representations actually get in the way. Basically, how information is stored and represented interferes with the meaning of that information. Progress® DataXtend® Semantic Integrator (SI) provides a common data model that enables semantic data integration of various information structures. So when one system's, or developer's, assumption of a certain data structure conflicts with another's representation, DataXtend SI will validate data exchanges between systems by focusing on the business integrity of data. It solves enterprise data integration problems by ensuring that data is valid based on business rules for the users and applications that require the data. Using DataXtend's semantic data integration solution will allow the enterprise to surpass simply loosely coupling the application interface and it will provide loose coupling at the semantic level.

DataXtend SI Solves the Problem of Validating Data Exchanges Between Systems

DataXtend SI focuses on the business integrity of data. With semantic data integration companies can rapidly construct and centrally manage the rules and operations needed to validate and reconcile data. Semantic data integration automates and manages operations that are central to ensuring data quality:

• Transformations: Schema mapping, such as converting a product order to the telecommunications Shared Information/Data (SID) model.
  
• Aggregation: Merging and reconciling disparate data, such as two different birth dates associated with one customer.
  
• Validation: Ensuring data consistency, such as checking that the ship date precedes the received date.
  
• Business Rules: Enforcing business processes, such as denying shipments to delinquent accounts.

Learn more about the other service-oriented architecture (SOA) solutions from Progress Software, such as the Sonic Enterprise Service Bus (ESB). We also provide solutions and technology for data replication, object database management, and complex event processing.