In-Depth

Sybase Makes Waves

Database player notches strategic alliance with Applix, reseller agreement with Ascential

• By Stephen Swoyer
• 09/08/2004

Last week, Sybase Inc. and OLAP powerhouse Applix Inc. teamed up to offer a combined BI offering built on top of Sybase’s data management and analytic products. Sybase also signed a reseller agreement with data integration specialist Ascential Software Corp.

In the first case, Sybase agreed to enroll in Applix’ Strategic Alliance Program. In return, Applix has pledged to tailor its TM1 OLAP engine for use with Sybase's Adaptive Server Enterprise (ASE) and Sybase IQ products. (ASE is Sybase’s RDBMS, while IQ is its analytic engine.) The combined offering will enable Sybase customers to perform real-time analytics and business planning with information stored in Sybase IQ or ASE, officials say.

Applix’ TM1 is an in-memory OLAP offering, which means that in many cases, it can boast better performance—measured in terms of cube load times as well as actual query and analysis—than traditional OLAP offerings (see http://www.esj.com/business_intelligence/article.asp?id=7111&t=y). Sybase IQ, on the other hand, is designed for quick query performance based on a column structure and patented indexing, officials say. The combined offering is designed to support rapid query performance, along with "what-if" analysis on historical and current financial and operational data.

“Businesses today need constant visibility into changing business conditions in order to respond quickly and effectively,” said Kathleen Schaub, vice president of marketing with Sybase, in a statement. “This real-time view requires information that flows freely, is accurate and up-to-the-minute.”

Sybase Cozies up to Ascential

Also last month, Sybase entered into a worldwide reseller agreement with Ascential. In this case, Sybase has pledged to resell Ascential’s DataStage, Ascential RTI, and Ascential Packaged Application Connection Kits (PACKs) for a variety of enterprise applications, databases, and operating systems.

In a statement, Raj Nathan, senior vice president and general manager of Sybase's Information Technology and Solutions Group, positioned the deal as a win-win for both companies. "Ascential Software's products complement our data management and application development offerings, and provide our customers with the most advanced solutions for meta data management,” he said. “We anticipate that this partnership with Ascential Software will increase market adoption of Sybase products, accelerate application deployments, and help reduce total cost of ownership for our installed base.”

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