Sanlam Health selects Intersolv data access middleware technology

Sanlam Health has selected Intersolv`s DataDirect SequeLink product to provide universal ODBC connectivity across a range of database platforms. Intersolv is represented in South Africa by SPL-Chariot, a member of the Dimension Data Holdings Group. Like many other corporates in South Africa, Sanlam has implemented packaged systems that run on a variety of database platforms. In an ongoing quest to continually improve service delivery to policyholders, Sanlam Health has recently adopted a strategy of application integration to provide customer help desks with simplified access to client data. In order to achieve application integration, a data access middleware solution had to be found. A conventional ODBC approach would have involved a nightmare of vendor-specific ODBC drivers and middleware, difficult to implement and chaotic to maintain. Intersolv`s SequeLink, SPL-Chariot`s recommended solution, avoids these pitfalls by providing server-based ODBC connectivity. A thin client communicates with the SequeLink server via Intersolv`s own generic middleware connectivity layer. This means that a single piece of client software provides universal ODBC access to a range of database platforms, thus reducing administration to an absolute minimum. Marius Roets, Sanlam Health`s IT manager, says: "We don`t have time to worry about the data access technology. We need to focus on the application integration side; the data access layer must simply work extremely fast and extremely reliably. After our initial pilot project, we are confident that SequeLink, backed up by support from SPL-Chariot and Intersolv, meets our stringent requirements in terms of both performance and support." Robin Mousley, SPL-Chariot`s regional manager in Cape Town, adds: "The problems associated with ODBC drivers are widespread: we often hear complaints about performance and the administration problems of keeping vendor specific ODBC drivers up to date. SequeLink client administration can be simply carried out from a single central location, while the architecture allows for performance and security benefits as well." SPL-Chariot continues to make significant inroads into the Cape blue-chip market and this win comes hot on the heels of other major deals won at large corporates in the region.