DataDirect Technologies Slashes Mainframe Total-Cost-Of-Ownership for Service-Oriented Architectures
DataDirect(R) Shadow(R) Version 7 Becomes Industry's Only Full-Feature Mainframe Integration Platform to Exploit IBM Specialty
BEDFORD, Mass., (BUSINESS WIRE)
15-Oct-2007
Engines to Reduce Costs and Improve SOA Performance
DataDirect Technologies, the unparalleled leader in data connectivity and mainframe integration and an operating company of Progress Software Corporation (Nasdaq: PRGS), today announces the upcoming availability of the DataDirect(R) Shadow(R) product version 7, a revolutionary release of its industry leading mainframe integration platform. Version 7 of the Shadow product will incorporate new patent-pending technology that uniquely exploits IBM's mainframe specialty engines which can dramatically reduce mainframe Total-Cost-of-Ownership (TCO) and improve Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) performance.
With the introduction of IBM's specialty engines, System z9 Integration Information Processor (zIIP) and System z Application Assist Processor (zAAP), the mainframe provides increased performance and has become a more cost-effective hub within SOAs and data-intensive Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Business Intelligence (BI) initiatives. These cost savings are realized by moving software that is currently running on the mainframe General Purpose Processor (GPP) and redeploying the software to run on the specialty engines. IBM's innovation has had an immediate impact on the industry, allowing customers to run new and expanded workloads on the mainframe in a cost-effective manner and stimulating independent software vendors (ISVs) to leverage these specialty engines to enhance their own product offerings.
"The new strategy for the mainframe is to both reduce the cost of software and attract new workloads to this platform through the introduction of specialty engines," said Dale Vecchio, Gartner research Vice President. "These engines are lower cost options for Java(TM), Linux and relational database workloads. Companies making a commitment to this platform should leverage these capabilities every chance they get. If the independent software community utilizes these specialty engines as a way to deliver new capabilities at a reduced cost, mainframe customers will benefit significantly."
Exploiting Mainframe Specialty Processors
DataDirect Shadow version 7 builds on the robust capabilities of the industry's only single, unified platform for mainframe integration with important enhancements for SOA and data connectivity. As the first full-feature mainframe integration middleware to capitalize on the potential performance and cost advantages of the IBM specialty engines, Shadow version 7 will open the zIIP to additional workloads beyond DB2, including mainframe data queries to IMS, VSAM, Adabas and IDMS, as well as SOAP/XML parsing for the transformation of business logic and screen logic in Web services.
With the Shadow product's advanced middleware design, SOA integration processing and data queries will be diverted from the mainframe's GPP and offloaded to the zIIP and/or zAAP specialty engines. Because processing that runs on a specialty engine is not speed governed it does not count against an organization's contracted mainframe processing capacity (MSU)(1) dramatically reducing costs. Shadow version 7 will incorporate patent-pending technology that will allow both Task Control Blocks (TCBs) and lightweight enclave Service Request Block (SRB) threads for mainframe SOA and data processing, elevating the product's already superior performance even if a specialty engine is not used.
Expanded Support for Mainframe SOA
DataDirect Shadow version 7 will offer new capabilities for expanded mainframe SOA initiatives - allowing organizations to orchestrate heterogeneous Web services using industry standard Business Process Execution Language (BPEL) 2.0 deployed cost-effectively on the mainframe inside the zAAP specialty engine, Integrated Facility for Linux (IFL) specialty engines or any standard JVM platform. The Shadow Studio - an open, Eclipse management console for Shadow has been enhanced to include a graphic BPEL designer and BPEL run-time management interface that simplifies the creation of workflows to enable the mainframe to drive business process optimization. In addition to Shadow Studio orchestration design support, DataDirect provides developers flexibility by allowing them to use any BPEL 2.0 designer.
Streamlining Mainframe Data Connectivity
In addition to its ground-breaking ability to exploit the zIIP and zAAP specialty processors and BPEL 2.0 capabilities, Shadow version 7 will contain significant enhancements for mainframe data connectivity. The product will feature DataDirect Technologies' line of high-performance client drivers, supporting ODBC 3.5.2 for 32-bit and 64-bit computing, JDBC(TM) 3.0 Type 4 for 32-bit and 64-bit database drivers and ADO.NET data providers. In addition to corporate IT departments, the integration of DataDirect Technologies' world-class drivers into Shadow version 7 is of significant value to ISVs, more than 300 of whom already embed DataDirect data access products in their own offerings. Using DataDirect products, ISVs now have a standard interface to provide their customers with access to both relational and mainframe data sources.
Unlike other alternatives for mainframe integration which provide point-to-point data access, DataDirect Shadow will provide a single platform for exposing virtually any mainframe asset via industry standard interfaces. This consistent data access method is further strengthened with support for the ANSI-92 SQL standard, providing multiple data interfaces (SQL, SOAP and XML) for optimal data access and interoperability.
"The innovations in Shadow version 7 are truly unique and reinforce DataDirect Technologies' commitment to mainframe integration, SOA advancements and data access with an emphasis on making things easier and more cost-effective for customers," said John Goodson, vice president of product operations at DataDirect Technologies. "We offer high-performance access to data wherever it's stored - in a relational database, in an XML document, or now, in a mainframe environment - providing the widest range of industry standard access to the most comprehensive set of mainframe data and application assets in the world."
Shadow Version 7 at IBM Information On Demand
DataDirect Shadow 7 will be exhibited at the IBM Information On Demand event, Oct. 14-19 at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas. To learn more, visit booth # 202 or go to www.datadirect.com.
About DataDirect Technologies
DataDirect Technologies is the software industry's only comprehensive provider of software for connecting the world's most critical business applications to data and services, running on any platform, using proven and emerging standards. Developers worldwide depend on DataDirect(R) products to connect their applications to an unparalleled range of data sources using standards-based interfaces such as ODBC, JDBC(TM) and ADO.NET, XQuery and SOAP. More than 300 leading independent software vendors and thousands of enterprises rely on DataDirect Technologies to simplify and streamline data connectivity for distributed systems and to reduce the complexity of mainframe integration. DataDirect Technologies is an operating company of Progress Software Corporation (Nasdaq: PRGS). For more information, visit www.datadirect.com.
DataDirect and Shadow are trademarks or registered trademarks of Progress Software Corporation or one of its subsidiaries or affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. Java and all Java based marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. Any other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
(1) Million Service Units (MSU) is a measurement of the amount of processing work a mainframe computer can perform in one hour.
CONTACT: DataDirect Technologies
April Harned, 646-246-0484
april.harned@datadirect.com
or
Calvin Fudge, 281-634-8266
calvin.fudge@datadirect.com
SOURCE: DataDirect Technologies
