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Product Briefs

• By ADT Staff
• September 1, 2004

WebSphere Extended Deployment
IBM has unveiled WebSphere Extended Deploy-ment, software that automatically optimizes the performance of software and hardware, particularly during unexpected spikes in usage or changing market conditions. The product runs on IBM’s WebSphere Application Server, and is said to more efficiently balance the workload among applications and servers.

The software monitors network efficiency, farming out unexpected workloads to underutilized hardware and software. Network managers have the option of confirming optimizations before they happen. It also partitions large jobs over many processors, databases, application software and app servers. Workloads can be prioritized so that important transactions are processed first, while a dashboard keeps administrators current on system performance. It can be directly combined with and managed in the same way as the application server, which can help businesses to reuse existing skills.

WebSphere Extended Deployment is currently in the beta testing phase, and will become generally available later this year.
IBM Corp.,
Somers, N.Y.,
www.ibm.com

SecureObjects 1.0
SecureObjects, from SPI Dynamics, is a class library of objects aimed at providing application security. The product helps developers to write secure application code by providing commonly used objects that are written securely. The first version will be integrated with Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003.

Version 1.0 gives developers security expertise without requiring them to change their development processes, and helps businesses to incorporate security early in the development cycle.

SecureObjects 1.0 validates input with objects that check incoming data on Web forms to validate input against a set of rules. It handles errors with objects that manage the security events generated from the other objects in the library. These objects catch security events as they occur, initiate responses and create an event log. In addition, the product’s Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 integration includes wizards and drag-and-drop capabilities to help implement the product within projects built with Microsoft ASP.NET.
SPI Dynamics Inc.,
Atlanta, Ga.,
www.spidynamics.com

Borland Together Edition for Microsoft Visual Studio .NET
Borland Together Edition for Microsoft Visual Studio .NET is a design and modeling tool for developers. This release offers additional support for Microsoft developers and is aimed at providing developers and architects with a way to better align the software they create with business requirements.

The product gives developers a view into how a company’s system architecture maps to the phases of app development. Improved Microsoft Visual C# and Visual Basic .NET reverse-engineering capabilities in the Borland LiveSource feature provide UML class diagram views of existing source code and the ability to generate sequence diagrams. Additional Visual C# .NET audits in Borland Together Edition for Microsoft Visual Studio .NET enable users to analyze code and models, and find potential quality problems early. A refactoring feature offers developers intelligent automation features to make changes to code and design without breaking the app, and to propagate them throughout the system’s code.

The Borland Together Edition for Microsoft Visual Studio .NET is priced at $199 per seat.
Borland Software Corp.,
Scotts Valley, Calif.,
www.borland.com

Model Builder for Predictive Analytics release 2.1
Fair Isaac Corp. has announced release 2.1 of Model Builder for Predictive Analytics, an advanced modeling platform to jump-start the predictive modeling process, enabling rapid development and deployment of predictive models into enterprise-class decision applications.

The new release is said to enable clients to create more accurate predictive scores with performance inference processing, and to integrate Model Builder more easily into mainframe environments. Clients can define, test and deploy models to production systems, including mainframes, without recoding by programmers.
Fair Isaac Corp.,
Minneapolis, Minn.,
www.fairisaac.com

CollabNet Enterprise Edition 3.0
CollabNet Enterprise Edition 3.0 is a Web-based development platform that is said to boost the productivity of geographically distributed software dev teams and align IT initiatives with business objectives.

Components include the CollabNet Project Dashboard, an option to Enterprise Edition 3.0 that provides real-time, color-coded reports and graphs to manage software development complexity; CollabNet Task Management, a user-intuitive, project management to-do list and status reporting tool that is also available as an option; CollabNet SCM, which is designed specifically for distributed, Internet-based development and manages changes to files and directories; and CollabNet Bridge for IBM Rational ClearCase, which allows users to extend their investment in IBM Rational ClearCase.
CollabNet,
Brisbane, Calif.,
www.collab.net

Desktop Authority and ScriptLogic Enterprise Version 5.5
ScriptLogic Corp. has released Version 5.5 of its Desktop Authority and ScriptLogic Enterprise desktop administration software.

The latest version includes new desktop agent technology that enables additional control and specific administrative actions while users are logged on. Other enhancements include exclusive Validation Logic technology that has been expanded to include Active Directory computer groups, and custom functions and variables; and a new back-end architecture that is said to increase performance and scalability of profile authentication in environments with many domain controllers.
ScriptLogic Corp.,
Boca Raton, Fla.,
www.scriptlogic.com

Altiris HelpDesk Solution 6.0
Altiris HelpDesk Solution 6.0 provides Smart tasks that let users leverage Altiris asset and system management tools directly from a help desk incident.

A new end-user portal allows users to search for common problem fixes, open a service request or log an incident to ultimately reduce service desk overhead and free time for strategic IT projects. Parent/child asset relationships allow IT organizations to better understand the risk of change within an environment while assigning costs to collections of assets. In addition, role-based security is provided for user-specific roles and fine-grained access control.

Altiris HelpDesk Solution 6.0 is a component of Altiris Asset Management Suite; price is $2,250 per concurrent user.
Altiris Inc.,
Lindon, Utah,
www.altiris.com

Cactus GDS Accelerator for Microsoft BizTalk Server 2004
Cactus Commerce has launched Cactus GDS Accelerator for Microsoft BizTalk Server 2004. It allows firms to connect to UCCnet, trade with retail and supplier partners, and integrate accurate real-time data into existing management systems.

Features include a GUI that removes the need for programming while managing item data; real-time business activity monitoring; and support for UCCnet, Web services, HTTP and EDI-INT (AS2). Cactus Commerce Inc.,
Ottawa, Canada,
www.cactuscommerce.com

WRQ Reflection
WRQ has announced the latest release of WRQ Reflection, its products for Windows, Web and PC X server host access.

The latest version extends functionality to benefit administrators, developers and end users who must manage and work with host systems and the mission-critical data and applications they store. New and enhanced features address centralized IT management, advanced security, customization, technology interoperability and user productivity.

The product family provides Web-based and Windows-based emulation that connects browser users to IBM, HP, Tandem, Unix and OpenVMS host applications; PC X server, which connects Windows users to graphical and character apps on Unix, Linux and OpenVMS hosts; and NFS client, which gives Windows users access to NFS resources.
WRQ Inc.,
Seattle, Wash.,
www.wrq.com
 

AppScan 4.5
Sanctum Inc. has announced AppScan 4.5, a security testing tool to deliver standardized Web application security testing across the enterprise.

Features include new privacy checks and enhanced XML testing that supplement existing ASV and CWV testing; environment-specific fix recommendations (J2EE and .NET) that improve communication between developer, QA and audit groups; and new results communication tools that facilitate the communication of results among development teams and to C-level management, including XSLT templates for advanced editing and reporting of results content.
Sanctum Inc.,
Santa Clara, Calif.,
www.sanctuminc.com

WebCharts3D Version 5.0
WebCharts3D Version 5.0 produces complex interactive charts in a number of formats and delivers them to browsers and mobile devices.

Version 5.0 adds a versatile chart designer with integrated image server, DTD and XSD schema production, API for Swing designer components, multiview charts, animated Flash generation, new shading and gradient effects. Interactive charts can be produced in the following formats: PNG, JPEG, PDF, SVG, SWF, GIF, TIFF and WBMP.

A free 30-day evaluation copy is available at www.gpoint.com/demo.
GreenPoint Inc.,
New York, N.Y.,
www.gpoint.com

TestView Web Testing Suite
TestView is a Web testing solution that integrates RadView Software’s functional, load and scalability testing software and includes new test management software through a central console.

The TestView Web Testing Suite combines intelligent and dynamic results reporting with the ability to define and run an unlimited number of tests in a distributed environment. This provides users with the flexibility to run extensive, complex tests. The reporting capability lets users review their test results from the highest summary level to the most detailed and individual test scripts. The suite consists of WebLoad 7.0, WebFT 4.0 and TestView Manager.

The suite is available through RadView’s flexible licensing program. Pricing starts at $26,000, depending on configuration.
RadView Software Ltd.,
Burlington, Mass.,
www.radview.com

Metapa Cluster DataBase (CDB) 1.0
Metapa Cluster DataBase (CDB) 1.0 is a Linux clustering platform “purpose-built” for business intelligence.

CDB offers 10-to-50 times query and insert performance gains; incremental scalability of the data warehouse to meet growing data volumes; non-invasive, centralized cluster management and administration; built-in enterprise-class reliability and failover; and support for standard database interfaces (SQL, JDBC, ODBC).
Metapa Inc.,
Los Angeles, Calif.,
www.metapa.net

WebFocus Express
WebFocus Express is a pared-down installation of WebFocus designed chiefly for VARs. The product has all components running on a single Windows machine using default settings, so VARs that are considering creating and distributing Web-based systems can do so cost-effectively.

The Web-ready data access and reporting system connects users to data. WebFocus accesses and processes information in any format, located on any platform, and presents the information to users through a Web browser or in outputs such as HTML, PDF and Microsoft Excel. WebFocus Express components include Developer Studio, WebFocus Client and WebFocus Reporting Server.
Information Builders Inc.,
New York, N.Y.,
www.ibi.com

DataMirror PointBase Version 5.0
Version 5.0 of DataMirror’s PointBase technology is said to improve overall system performance and to reduce costs associated with maintenance. PointBase Embedded now has deadlock detection as well as an improved client/server protocol, and B-tree and query processing enhancements. PointBase UniSync now updates rows deleted after synchronization, while PointBase Micro supports DataSource interfaces. DataMirror,
Santa Clara, Calif.,
www.datamirror.com