This news coincides with other COOL product announcements made today at the DCI I*CON conference and underscores Sterling Software`s commitment to providing the industry`s most comprehensive portfolio of model-based, enterprise-scale application development tools that simplify the successful delivery of IT solutions.
Chief among the COOL:Biz 4.0 enhancements is new support for a number of database platforms, including DB2, Oracle and Sybase, in addition to the existing support for more than 20 other databases. The new version also provides flexible, multi-user model management, improved integration with other COOL products and the ability to generate reports to Office 97 or HTML formats through a simple, one-step process.
"As a consulting company, we`re asked to deliver powerful technology solutions that solve urgent business problems," said Joe Petti, CEO of CONVISTA, a Silver Spring, Maryland-based high-technology consulting firm. "As a result, tools that can help us create such solutions are literally our competitive differentiator. Because COOL:Biz enables our analysts and developers to understand system details quickly, while automating much of the analysis and design processes, we`ve slashed the time it takes to provide our customers with the applications they need to run competitive businesses."
Sterling Software`s Anna Clepper added, "Business modeling technology is becoming more of a requirement because IS organizations are under immense pressure to develop applications that more closely match the way the business is run." Clepper is vice president of marketing for Sterling Software`s Application Development Division.
"This contrasts with other approaches, which omit the business modeling phase altogether and proceed to build applications without considering how an organization operates. Often, the result is ineffective applications that are difficult to implement. COOL:Biz, on the other hand, combines an easy-to-understand business and application modeling approach that supports a variety of modeling disciplines. This gives IS the tools they need to map applications to business across a variety of platforms."
COOL:Biz 4.0 enhancements
Greater Information Access - Data and database modeling are enhanced with the addition of database import capabilities that capture physical database properties for DB2, Oracle and Sybase. This means developers can easily understand existing data structures as they build new applications.
Tight Object and Component Integration -- Users now have the ability to derive an Object Class Model from an Entity Model and vice-versa to "jump-start" object modeling activities based on current data models. Candidate component types can be derived from defined work products within the business model. These can be further elaborated in COOL:Spex(tm).
Efficient Web Model Browsing -- COOL:Xtras Webview(tm) , an online Web model browsing tool, enables Internet/intranet access to business models and allows users to automatically publish current versions of models, diagrams and content via the World Wide Web or their organization`s intranet. Webview has been enhanced with Java applets to support diagram scaling and easier navigation of models, diagrams and objects.
Simple Model Management -- Enhanced model management abilities include user-defined folders or packages, which allow users to group objects by their subject matter. As a result, users gain greater control over model organization and analysis of comparative models, such as "AS-IS" to "TO-BE" models. In addition, new user-defined properties on model objects help users create models that meet the unique requirements of their business or industry. A new locking mechanism also protects model objects in a multi-user environment.
Easy Reporting -- COOL:Biz 4.0 provides an ActiveX interface to all model objects, which makes generating reports a one-step process to Office 97 and HTML formats. Users can create customized reports by modifying existing reports or generating new user-defined reports.
COOL product portfolio integration
COOL:Biz provides customers with the ability to model and understand their business processes independent of a technology solution. Once the business is understood, COOL:Biz models can be used to drive component modeling through COOL:Spex and implement applications through COOL:Gen(tm) or COOL:Plex(tm) .
Editors Note
About COOL products
Sterling Software`s COOL portfolio provides the industry`s most complete enterprise solution for the development of business, technical and embedded software applications. The COOL products support the full range of enterprise application development needs -- from business modeling, to large-scale client/server, to database design and administration, to real-time structured development, to object analysis and design and component-based development -- for every major enterprise platform.
About Sterling software
Sterling Software is a leading provider of software and services for the application development, information management, systems management and federal systems markets. The company is ranked among Business Week`s 1998 "Info Tech 100" as one of the world`s best performing information technology companies. Headquartered in Dallas, Sterling Software has a worldwide installed base of more than 20 000 customer sites and 3 600 employees in 90 offices worldwide. For more information on Sterling Software, visit the company`s Web site at www.sterling.com.
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