Composite Data Virtualization     Datasheet: Data Virtualization

Avoid the burdens of physical integration and accelerate business initiatives

Data Virtualization: The Unstoppable Force
The virtualization revolution is upon us, first storage, then servers and applications, now data itself.

Data virtualization brings together data from multiple, disparate sources--anywhere across the extended enterprise--into a unified, logical virtualized data layer for consumption by nearly any front-end business solution including portals, reports, applications and more.

Also referred to as an information grid or information fabric, data virtualization is the better way to integrate data when the consuming solutions need real-time data from multiple silos and complex sources.

Hand Coding Falls Short
Writing custom code works to access existing data from a few data sources, with well understood syntax, common structures, etc.  As data silos have proliferated, accompanied by new structures such as XML or complex syntax such as those of enterprise applications like SAP, the data needs of your consuming applications have become more complex, thereby exposing hand coding’s limitations. 

More Extracts and Marts Are Not the Answer
Traditionally, data integration has leveraged a replication model to create periodic, physical extracts. These extracts are then pushed directly to consuming systems or loaded into intermediary marts or warehouses for subsequent consumption.

While this approach is useful for large-scale, multidimensional analysis initiatives where data volumes might prohibit virtualized approaches, it has also proven costly and time consuming to develop and therefore inappropriate for the bulk of your data integration projects—especially those that require real-time information.

The Composite Advantage
Composite provides a complete data virtualization solution with numerous advantages such as: 

• Real-time information. Turn diverse data into up-to-the-minute insight.  Federate operational and historical data.  Make decisions knowing your data is fresh.
• Build in days, not weeks.  Develop new solutions quickly and easily. Configure and reuse abstracted data services. Minimize low productivity hand coding.  No need to build and test marts.
• Reduce unnecessary data replication. Use your data where it lives. No replication required. Stop perpetuating uncontrolled data extracts and additional marts.

Early adopters like Wall Street investment banks and large software vendors such as Cognos and BMC have integrated their data through Composite data virtualization four times faster and for one quarter the cost of traditional extract- and mart-based approaches. 

Three Tier Data Virtualization Landscape

How Composite Virtualizes Data
You can deliver timely, complete information, respond faster to business requests, and integrate data for less time and cost with Composite data virtualization.  Only Composite lets you:

• Virtualize data silos.  All your data appears in one logical location. Up to the minute. Readily available, on demand.
• Abstract away complexity.  Data the way your business solutions want to consume it.  Easy to understand. Reusable.
• Federate heterogeneous data.  Securely access and combine diverse operational and historical data.  Provide single views and other composites. Query optimization for high performance.

Composite Data Virtualization in Action
By separating the logical from the physical, you can overcome source data complexities, reduce costs and develop new solutions faster. Here are a few of the hundreds of use cases that benefit both business and IT:

• Virtualized Financial Research Data.  Simplified integration of multi-terabyte financial research databases with a variety of Matlabs analytical and custom financial engineering applications results in higher trading profits.
• Scientific Research Workbench.  Heterogeneous research, clinical trial, FDA submission data and more virtualized and displayed in a research scientist portal helps get new drugs to market faster.
• Line of Business Data Virtualization.   Shared data services utility for all new SOA-based applications within the Corporate Investment Bank line of business accelerates time to market for new applications.
• Single View of Customer Trades and Positions. Unified reporting of customers’ trades and positions from across multiple assets (bonds, stocks, funds, derivatives, etc.) improves customer satisfaction and retention.
• Virtual Management and Compliance Reporting Layer.   Multiple reporting requirements (Prime Brokerage, Reconciliation, Risk Management, etc.) share a common virtual data layer that integrates source data from trading and other systems, on demand.

The Bottom Line
Data virtualization, following the proven path of storage, server, and applications virtualization, overcomes physical complexity to accelerate business initiatives and radically lower costs.  But data virtualization requires a different approach to data integration that traditional, physically-based extracts and data marts or hand coding cannot support.  Only Composite provides the critical data virtualization, abstraction, and federation capabilities to support your data virtualization strategy. With Composite data virtualization, you can fulfill your real-time information requirements sooner, for less.

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