Sun, Sybase solution powers government Web portal

Addressing the increasing requirements of government institutions around the world for effective and affordable IT solutions, Sun Microsystems has announced the successful application of its iForce solution for Economical Data Management by the US Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS).

Based on its Enterprise Data Warehouse Reference Architecture, jointly developed with database company Sybase, the product has been used in the development of TranStats, an analytical Web portal.

"Governments the world over are seeking ways of improving efficiencies to serve their citizens better with fewer resources," says Daryl Blundell, solutions sales manager for Sun Microsystems SA. He says that by making data more accessible to the entire national transportation community, BTS can make in timelier, more informed decisions, ultimately resulting in better transportation systems.

"This is an example of a government agency using Sun technology to leverage the hidden power of its information, to improve the service it provides to its customers," he adds.

Blundell explains that the iForce Solution for Economical Data Management is based upon Sybase's Adaptive Server IQ enterprise analytical engine and Sun Fire V880 servers. In its public Web version, the solution supports 15 000 visits per day and over 100 concurrent users. In addition, the system offers researchers unprecedented data access and analytical capabilities, including a single point of access to more than 100 transport-related databases with a total of 2.5TB of data.

"With selective downloads, users can choose relevant variables of interest and download the data directly to a personal computer for analysis using any database, spreadsheet, or statistical package," says Blundell.

Online data documentation provides profiles on each database, summary information about the tables that comprise a database, data definitions and code information for data variables.

"Implementing the iForce Solution has been key to the success of this e-government initiative. It allows citizens to penetrate the federal bureaucracy for data and information in a way that couldn't be done before," says Blundell.

He notes that with its aggressive e-government strategy, the South African administration has access to this solution as a reference point for opening up many of its information systems to allow greater interaction for citizens.

"A solution such as this has greater significance for e-government initiatives, as it is a demonstration of the value that can be realised from existing government data sets," he says.

Sun delivers value through its expertise and understanding of the ever-changing challenges government institutions face, as they build their presence on the Internet.

"As government agencies demonstrate the value of network computing by providing their customers with online access to information located from dispersed databases, it is important that they leverage solutions that support large amounts of users," adds Blundell.

"Sun and Sybase will continue to work together in delivering new products and iForce solutions to meet our customers' needs," he concludes.

More information about the iForce Solution can be found by visiting http://www.sybase.com/sunfiresolution.