Timeline Granted US Patent for WorkWise Process Automation Technology
Tuesday May 18, 5:27 pm ET
BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 18, 2004--Timeline, Inc. (OTCBB:TMLN - News), today announced its wholly-owned subsidiary, WorkWise Software, Inc., has been granted its first patent issued for process automation technology used in the WorkWise suite of products. This week, the United States Patent Office issued Patent No. 6,738,757 entitled 'System for Database Monitoring and Agent Implementation' (the '757 patent).
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Automating processes in reaction to changing data values within a database is one of the key functions of the WorkWise technology, which Timeline acquired in 2000. "This patented technology is unique and offers significant value to Timeline's OEM clients and their customers," stated Charles Osenbaugh, President and CEO of Timeline, Inc. Timeline is recognized as a pioneer in automating the design and use of data warehouses and data marts to facilitate reporting, budgeting and consolidation on disparate underlying transaction systems. The company's numerous U.S. and international patents on automated databases have been broadly licensed in many applications beyond financial and managerial reporting. Likewise, this '757 patent is in a new and complementary field with widespread potential applications.
The '757 patented technology makes it practical to use a single application to monitor many different underlying transactional databases and trigger events based upon changes in one or more fields within one or more data base(s). For instance, if a manager wants to automate inventory management, he can instruct his WorkWise Business Alerts to send his order desk an email when inventory levels drop below a certain point. Despite the simplicity of this example, an event can be far more complex, such as running additional software programs to automatically order new inventory, sending an EDI transmission to the supplier, and notifying the manager that the order was placed.
Most monitoring software requires writing specific stored procedures or code embedded within each monitored application. An embedded code or stored procedure approach is extremely difficult to maintain because changes in databases usually require changes in the embedded codes. The complexity and difficulty compounds when one is triggering events based upon combinations of values contained in multiple fields in differing applications.
WorkWise's Data Agent Server (DAS) embodiment of the '757 patented technology allows for efficient storage of values found in the monitored fields. This property, in turn makes it practical to monitor third party applications externally by taking snapshots at predetermined intervals through industry standard connections, such as ODBC.
DAS allows a common user interface within a single module to monitor all of a firms various application databases. Business rules, triggers, and events are all maintained in one central location. Not only does this ease the burden for users, but makes it practical in Timeline's business model to offer each of its OEMs a single product to provide these capabilities despite the fact each OEM will monitor their differing transaction applications.
Another benefit of the '757 patented technology is the greater efficiencies derived from having embedded the DAS engine within Timeline's own applications. This feature allows users to automatically refresh and distribute reports and data marts when new transactions are posted in underlying transaction systems, in error tracking notification, in approvals of new security clearances, and many other situations.
"The '757 patented technology has improved our products and our internal systems. We plan to incorporate the '757 patent technology into our ongoing efforts to broadly license Timeline's patent portfolio," concluded Osenbaugh.
About Timeline
Timeline develops, markets and supports proven, Microsoft Windows-based financial management reporting software suitable for complex applications such as those found in medium to large, multinational corporations. Timeline Analyst was developed for Windows and Office and takes full advantage of Microsoft's latest operating systems and Version 2.9 allows for the deployment of target analytical data marts on Oracle 8 or 9i and IBM's DB2 Universal Data Bases Versions 7 & 8 as well as Microsoft SQL Server. The Analyst Suite of products allows target data marts on which Timeline's reporting, budgeting and consolidation applications reside to be built on all of these three popular computing platforms. Timeline can be reached at 800-342-3365 or on the web at www.timeline.com. WorkWise Software, Inc., a subsidiary of Timeline, is the leading provider of event-based notifications, application integration and process automation systems to the mid-market. The WorkWise solutions are exclusively available through authorized OEM and Reseller Business Partners. For more information on WorkWise Software, Inc., visit its website at www.workwise.com. Analyst Financials Ltd., a London-based subsidiary of Timeline, markets, licenses and provides consulting for Timeline Analyst products in Europe and Africa.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this news release looking forward in time involve risks and uncertainties, including the acceptance of new products introduced by alliance partners, risks associated with international operations, the company's ability to realize value from patented technology, and other risk factors detailed in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Use of the words "potential" and "plan" in this news release is intended to identify these forward-looking statements, although it is not the exclusive means of doing so.
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Contact:
Timeline, Inc.
Charlie Osenbaugh or Paula McGee, 425-822-3140
or
www.timeline.com
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Source: Timeline, Inc. |
