With market speculation and activity around Web services reaching white-hot intensity, InterSystems has announced its entry to this market through its Cach'e database.
Web services is the term given to the technology wave encompassing software applications made up of many distributed, Internet-based components. It has every mainstream vendor lining up to claim a stake in what is being seen by many analysts and vendors as "the next big thing".
"Web services can be described as a collection of methods that can be invoked from an arbitrary client to fulfil a set of related operations," says Henry Adams, country manager for InterSystems South Africa. "All Web services use Simple Object Access Protocol, or SOAP, which is based on the XML standard. Our Cach'e database inherently understands XML, and other object data types, making it easy to deal with Web services."
In controlled tests and proofs of concept, InterSystems has shown that it takes mere minutes to present existing Cach'e-based applications as Web services. "Cach'e has inherent SOAP accessibility," notes Adams, "which translates to less complexity and application re-engineering for resellers and customers."
Having a database with native Web services capability has multiple benefits:
* There is no requirement for middleware of any type, as requests are fulfilled directly against the database, which reduces the cost and complexity of going the Web services route;
* Companies which want to test Web services today can do so without incurring cost or risk, as existing applications can be reused as Web services; alternatively, companies can adopt a wait-and-see approach to determine when is the right time to dip their toes in the Web services water; and
* Because there is no middleware or requirement for translation, there is also no overhead to be paid in terms of performance.
"Our commitment is very much in support of our partners, who would have had to integrate Web services into their existing applications," adds Adams. "By doing it centrally, we have ensured the job is done just once, and guaranteed compliance to standards."
Cach'e, as a post-relational database, was designed to support multiple, complex data types. The same database can natively support relational data, business intelligence in real-time and object technology; and with Web services being in essence a series of clustered objects, the foundation for Web services had already been laid when the database was designed.
"The architecture of Cach'e is what allows it to cope with potentially disruptive new technology waves," concludes Adams. "It should allow our software partners and customers to continue to respond appropriately to whatever technology or business throws at them."
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