Yphise ranks IBM Information Server highest among competitors in its assessment report entitled " Data Integration Services "

April 20, 2007 - The independent analyst in software assessment, Yphise announced a new Software Product Assessment report for Data Integration Services (DIS).

Yphise has assessed IBM Information Server edited by IBM according to its ISO 9001:2000-certified process. As a result, Yphise attributes the Yphise AWARD to this product assessing it as the best ranked one according to the Yphise reference List of Requirements in comparison with the competition.

Data Integration Services (DIS) solutions help define and manage data services. A data service defines operations applied to data. It can be released as a Web service. The operations relate to management of data quality. They include four dimensions: data integration, data improvement (cleansing, enrichment, standardization), matching management (comparison, consolidation) and data transformation into services. These data services are used by operational or decision-making systems. They are updated on a near real-time basis.

There are mainly three benefits : reinforcing the EOP (Enterprise Operational Performance), improving the business agility and managing efficiently the risks related to data. "Our research concludes that Data Integration Services is essential in order to improve the quality of service delivered to the business. Businesses require real-time or near real-time information in order to quickly respond to various events. They also need reliable and consistent data in order to improve and facilitate decision making. Incorrect information within the various business processes can incur additional costs, degrade customer confidence, affect compliance with regulatory requirements or lead to ill-advised decisions. DIS solutions allow to build high-quality data, formatted and compliant with internal or external requirements in order to improve operational performance. They help avoid costly and risky projects that involve migrating or integrating the existing data. DIS solutions also make it possible to improve the control and monitoring of data quality in the business processes. DIS solutions help manage the risks related to regulatory requirements. The detailed assessment of the products shortlisted by Yphise states that this market segment represents a priority investment" says the report.

Yphise final shortlist for this market segment is as follows (alphabetical order): Business Objects EIM (Business Objects), IBM Information Server (IBM), Informatica PowerCenter Platform (Informatica) and SAS Enterprise Data Integration Server (SAS). Each product shortlisted by Yphise contributes to provide effective functions for defining and running the data services to be used by operational or decision-making systems. The Yphise requirements include data quality and data integration functions in order to provide near real-time data services. Many products on the market cover one part of these requirements. The valuable solutions integrate the useful scope of functions into a consistent SOA approach and standard. This trend is essential for the future. The shortlist focuses on solutions with sufficient maturity to meet these challenging requirements.

The four assessment dimensions are :
1. Reinforcing the Enterprise Operational Performance,
2. Reducing the risks related to data quality,
3. Optimizing the business efficiency,
4. Improving the business agility.
The assessment dimensions aggregate more than 200 functional or technical control items. This list of requirements is practical, in order to evaluate the capacity of the products to provide an adequate return on investment. It is also proactive in order to appreciate the upcoming perspectives.

As a result, Yphise attributes the Yphise AWARD to IBM Information Server edited by IBM assessing it as the best ranked one according to the Yphise reference List of Requirements in comparison with the competition.

« IBM Information Server provides the best coverage of our list of requirements. IBM demonstrates relevant and comprehensive view of DIS. Its unified platform merges its various products related to information management. It is the only product to provide a single interface for defining the integration and data-quality operations. It meets the objective of publishing reliable information as a service. It is also a user-friendly solution, easy to use and with complete features for defining and delivering the data services. The product provides a strong coverage in the four assessment dimensions. It obtains the best results in three assessment dimensions. It provides comprehensive functions for extracting the data from various sources or formats, for improving the data quality and for making the data services available for operational purposes. It mainly stands out in "Improving the business agility", as it provides advanced functions for defining and managing the data services as Web services», says Yphise Analyst Laetitia Bardoul from Yphise Paris labs.

The Yphise AWARD is the unchallenged distinction for software products. The Yphise AWARD is given to the best software after an in-depth assessment of the leading competitors. The assessment is based on the Yphise detailed list of requirements designed to meet the needs of large companies. This list of requirements includes more than 200 technical or functional assessment items. The Yphise AWARD is the only distinction based on an ISO 9001:2000-certified comparative assessment of the software products. ISO 9001:2000 is the worldwide quality standard. It guarantees independence and focus on the key issues for large companies.

The DIS market segment has been selected under the Yphise independent research program which identifies the software products that represent a valuable investment for large companies.

About Yphise.
Yphise identifies and certifies the software products that allow large companies to increase the value of their information systems while optimizing the costs and managing the risks. Yphise covers all areas of interest in order to develop, operate, maintain and secure the applications to compete. Yphise has assessed 150 software products each year since 1985. Each assessment is ISO 9001:2000-certified in order to guarantee independence and to focus on key issues for large companies. Yphise distributes more than 8000 comparative assessment reports each year all over the world. Yphise has unparalleled experience in the recognition of winning strategies in software vendor claims. Thousands of investment decisions made by large companies have used Yphise independent research.

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Contacts.
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Yphise Europe Yphise US
6 rue Beaubourg P.O. Box 350281
F75004 PARIS Westminster, CO80035-0281
FRANCE USA
T +33 1 44 59 93 00 T +1 303 410-7753
F +33 1 44 59 93 09 F +1 303 410-4980
Contact. Laurent Mynard, Press Relationship Manager (Paris). yphise@yphise.com


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About Yphise Software Assessment
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The released results are designed to cover the needs of IT Executives and Managers, from the planning of investment priorities to the selection of products, including the negotiating with service providers of products to use in their solutions. Yphise Software Assessment includes three volumes:

- The list of useful requirements. Yphise produces on each market segment the useful list of requirements in order to accurately score the software products according to expected benefits by large companies. This list of requirements is practical, in order to evaluate the capacity of the products to provide an adequate return on investment. It is also proactive, in order to appreciate the upcoming perspectives (REQUIREMENTS volume).

- The detailed assessment of the shortlisted products. The Yphise ISO 9001-certified assessment of each product provides accurate results. Each assessment includes hundreds of control criteria and allows rigorous scoring of products. The Detailed Assessment volume provides results in tables for quick access and accurate comparison between products. A Selection Assistant provides results in Excel format in order to customize all the data and weights according to your specific opinions and needs (DETAILED ASSESSMENT volume).

- The Executive volume is designed to appreciate the investment priorities for the large companies, to identify the shortlist of products, or to evaluate the solutions from service providers that include software products. The Executive volume is produced after in-depth analysis of the evaluated market segment. The ranking of the shortlisted products aggregates the results from the detailed assessment (EXECUTIVE volume). It includes:

- Market segment
- Benefits for the business
- Benefits for the IT processes
- Positioning of the market segment
- The shortlist for the evaluated market segment
- Market trends
- Yphise ranking
- Assessment overview

This release was published on openPR.