EMC, BMC team up to ensure benefit from data extraction

The local office of EMC, together with BMC Software, has confirmed the release of the DataReach intelligent storage and data movement software - a solution for high speed delivery of information from the mainframe to open systems platforms. John Jordaan, manager - channel and partner sales at EMC SA, says, "For data to be useful it must be current and if information cannot be extracted in a reasonable time, business may very well be lost." "Scheduling and operational issues often limit the time available for moving data between platforms," he adds. This is in agreement with an Aberdeen Group report which states : "Data propagation from a mainframe, say, a DB2 database to an open systems relational database management system (RDBMS) generally has to run in a batch window on the mainframe, typically when the Online Transaction Processing (OLTP) systems that uses the DB2 database is off-line." "However, given batch window constraints, a number of scenarios may develop: the data propagation job may not have enough time to complete; the job may have to be run less frequently than the business desires (monthly rather than nightly); the enterprise may not be able to build an informational system at all; or the enterprise may not be able to keep that system updated with current data." The report states that the key to better decision making lies in unlocking mainframe data for manipulation in data warehouses. The snag, however, is that mainframe computers do not always yield their data easily to the open world. Joop Groeneveld, MD of local BMC Software distributor, AST Database Technologies, says that as DataReach uses network tools to reach further into the extended enterprise these scenarios are overcome. "These tools allow solutions to be directly attached to both traditional mainframe and open systems, which significantly speeds the availability of data," he adds. "[The] Aberdeen [Group] believes that DataReach may topple mainframe-infrastructure barriers to the free flow of data and help many large enterprises to capture business value that might otherwise have been lost," quotes Jordaan.