Composite Software's Composite Information Service with Composite Application Views

Posted by Lori MacVittie on May 31, 2006

Tags: Composite Software,  SAP,  Saleforce.com,  application databases,  enterprise database,  product reviews,  rational data,  Access and Authentication,  Application Integration and Middleware ,  Corporate Data Security,  Data Center Access,  Data Networking & Management,  Data Protection,  Database Management Services,  Enclosures,  Enterprise Applications,  Hotspots,  Infrastructure,  Linux,  Lori MacVittie,  Middleware,  Other,  Servers & Storage,  Software,  Software and Web Development,  Technology,  WLAN Security,  Web Services,  Web Services Security,  Wireless

Channel: Data Protection, Networking & Mgmt, Other, Servers & Storage, Wireless

Composite Application Views build on the vendor's Composite Information Service, providing SQL query-level and Web Services access to packaged applications' data, enabling a wide variety of reporting and integration uses in the enterprise. Composite Software competes with MetaMatrix and IBM in the enterprise information integration arena. Like its competitors, and a few vendors that might not typically be considered competitors, Composite is moving to fit into SOA and address enterprise demands for access to data locked in proprietary ERP and CRM systems. Composite, like competitor Iona, has recognized the demands of the enterprise to access its data regardless of where it may be stored. Its ability to work closely with large partners to provide that access is well-established, and the release of CAVs providing access to SAP, Siebel and Salesforce.com is no exception. No other EII vendor offers its level of access to Salesforce.com. Composite Software Composite Information Service with Composite Application Views, starts at $65,000 www.compositesoftware.com

Enterprises need to access their data, wherever it's stored. But that's not always so easy. Take a SAP database: There are approximately 30,000 tables in a typical one. Direct access to these tables is restricted both by the vendor's licensing agreements and the use of German acronyms to name columns, making it necessary for integrators and report writers to use SAP-provided APIs to access data.

No small chore, considering there are thousands of functions in the business (BAPI) and developer-oriented (RFC) APIs--both of which require code and an understanding of how to connect and use the system.

Or consider Salesforce.com, which allows access to your data but only through Web services APIs. This poses two problems: generalized reporting and querying over SQL is impossible, and the inclusion of data in a simple Excel spreadsheet is unlikely for line-of-business managers without the aid of developers.

Enterprise application integration (EAI) vendors such as Fiorano, Iona and TIBCO offer adapters to allow access to enterprise application data from PeopleSoft, SAP and Siebel applications. Yet EAI products bring with them their own pain--they don't always support third-party reporting systems and are rarely capable of readily joining data from two or more systems. That's where EII (enterprise information integration) systems provide value.

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