The computing giant, based in Armonk, N.Y., is gearing up to release Masala, a new version of its DB2 Information Integrator software that will let corporate employees retrieve information from databases, applications and the Web at the same time. Subsequent improvements will include a data-mining component code-named Criollo.
Although the market for this type of middleware is small, interest is strong. About 1,300 IBM customers use the first version of Information Integrator, which came out almost a year ago, said Nelson Mattos, director of the Information Integration Software Group at IBM. Only 120 were involved in the beta program, which ran from July 2002 to June 2003.
“Tools like this in general are not going to blow away relational databases and their ilk anytime soon, but IBM has done a good job of tapping into other products,” said Steve O’Grady, an analyst at RedMonk. “When you look at the Microsofts and Oracles of the world, they are generally still talking a centralized message.”
News source: ZDNet
