Composite Software
April 12, 2009
I was asked about data virtualization last week. As I worked on a short report for the client, I reminded myself about Composite Software, a company with “data virtualization” as a tagline on on its Web site. You can read about the company here. Quick take: the firm’s technology performs federation. Instead of duplicating data in a repository, Composite Software “uses data where it lives.” If you are a Cognos or BMS customer, you may have some Composite technology chugging away within those business intelligence systems. The company opened for business in 2002 and has found a customer base in financial services, military systems, and pharmaceuticals.
The angle that Composite Software takes is “four times faster and one quarter the cost.” The “faster” refers to getting data where it resides and as those data are refreshed. Repository approaches introduce latency. Keep in mind that no system is latency free, but Composite’s approach minimizes latency associated with more traditional approaches. The “cost” refers to the money saved by eliminating the administrative and storage costs of a replication approach.
The technology makes use of a server that handles querying and federating. The user interacts with the Composite server and sees a single-view of the available data. The system can operate as an enabling process for other enterprise applications, or it can be used as a business intelligence system. In my files, I located this diagram that shows a high level view of Composite’s technology acting as a data services layer:
A more detailed system schematic appears in the companies datasheet “Composite Information Server 4.6” The here. A 2009 explanation of the Composite virtualization process is also available from the same page as the information server document.
The system includes a visual programming tool. The interface makes it easy to point and click through SQL query build up. I found the graphic touch for joins useful but a bit small for my aging eyeballs.
If you are a fan of mashups, Composite makes it possible to juxtapose analyzed data from diverse sources. The company makes available a white paper, written by Bloor Research, that provides a useful round up of some of the key players in the data discovery and data federation sector. You have to register before you can download the document. Start the registration process here.
Keep in mind that this sector does not include search and content processing companies. Nevertheless, Composite offers a proven method for pulling scattered, structured data together into one view.
Stephen Arnold, April 12, 2009
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