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New Architecture Tools Showcased at EAS
Here are some highlights from the exhibit hall at Enterprise Architect Summit 2006.
by Lauren Y. Dresnick
Enterprise Architect Summit, May 2006
Vendors from across the country promoted new products and highlighted company goals for attendees at this year's Enterprise Architect Summit (EAS) conference in Key Biscayne, Fla. Here are the highlights from the exhibit hall.
DataDirect Technologies
http://www.datadirect.com/
DataDirect Technologies, a Progress Software Corp. company, provides software for connecting critical-business applications to data and services. Its software runs on any platform, and operates with both proven and emerging standards. DataDirect debuted its latest version of DataDirect Connect for ADO.NET 3.0 data providers, describing how the new product helps .NET developers securely, quickly, and efficiently access application-critical data from their databases. This product meets the latest specs for ADO.NET 2.0, while also providing new functionality such as a common programming model, Visual Studio 2005 integration, and metadata management.
Flashline
http://www.flashline.com/
Flashline helps organizations deliver on the promises of SOA by attempting to bridge the gap between IT and business, while also cutting costs. At EAS the company promoted its Flashline for SOA, a registry or repository that helps you provide a foundation for your SOA. Flashline representatives emphasized the product's key capabilities, including architectural governance, graphical navigation, and analytics. Flashline also promoted its SOA Starter Patterns, a storyboard that forms a basis for SOA programs. These patterns are meant to put governance, lifecycle management, and measurement at the core of your SOA initiatives.
Metallect
http://www.metallect.com/
Metallect Corp. showcased its IQ Server, which allows companies to reduce the risk, cost, and cycle-time of application change management. This product also boasts efficient alignment of business-critical applications with your evolving needs and the speed of your business. Metallect Corp. particularly recommends its IQ Server for companies looking to improve application portfolio management, SOA adoption and governance, and IT risk management and compliance.
Microsoft ARC
http://www.getarchjournal.com
Microsoft distributed the latest copies of its The Architecture Journal, a magazine that focuses strictly on architecture issues. The company's message to attendees was about "edges": Microsoft encourages enterprise architects to explore the edges in architecture, the edges between the enterprise and customer, SOA and the cloud that exists around it, and architecture today and tomorrow. According to Norman Guadagno, group manager for Microsoft's Architecture Strategy, "the deeply entrenched world of SOA is going to collide with the Web 2.0 world. Microsoft provides the knowledge, tools, content, and opportunity for discussions that will help you decide [what type of architecture] is right for your business." Microsoft is trying to help businesses be more successful, said Guadagno.
Microsoft Motion Services
http://www.microsoft.com/
The Microsoft Motion team highlighted Microsoft Motion's Business Architecture offering. This product provides a schematic way for customers to expose their business architecture and focus resources on what matters most across technology, process, and people. Motion's Business Architecture creates alignment between IT and business, and helps organizations identify the value of each business capability and the metrics that impact these capabilities. Marc Baxter, member of Microsoft's Enterprise Services, summed it up like this: "A Motion engagement delivers business architecture, structure and focus for SOA decisions, and project recommendations."
Sonic Software
http://www.sonicsoftware.com/
Sonic Software is well-known for its enterprise service bus (ESB), but all its technology is aimed at delivering the scalability, security, and management capabilities necessary for implementing mission-critical business processes. Sonic highlighted its Sonic ESB 7, which attempts to simplify the integration and flexible reuse of business components using a standards-based SOA. Sonic also promoted its ESB Product Family, which comprises Sonic ESB and a comprehensive set of compatible products that simplify application integration within an SOA. Sonic was the only vendor to highlight an Eclipse-based tool: Sonic Workbench. This tool set helps you model, configure, test, and deploy processes and services using products in the Sonic ESB Family.
Sparx Systems
http://www.sparxsystems.com.au/
Sparx Systems provides enterprise UML tools at low costs. The company showcased two products: Sparx Enterprise Architect and Sparx MDG Integration for Visual Studio 2005. Sparx Enterprise Architect is a UML modeling program that offers feature-rich tool support and best practices throughout the software development lifecycle. This product enables cross-enterprise collaboration, and it links into Visual Studio 2005 with the help of the MDG Integration for Visual Studio 2005 tool.
About the Author
Lauren Y. Dresnick is associate editor at FTPOnline.
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