uesday May 19, 10:06 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Ardent Software, Inc. and Digital Announce Worldwide
Reseller Agreement for DataStage
Data warehouse leaders work together to meet increasingly complex needs of
Fortune 500 companies
WESTBORO, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 19, 1998-- Ardent Software, Inc.
(NASDAQ:ARDT - news), an international data management company and leading provider of data
mart and warehouse development tools, announced that it has signed a worldwide reseller agreement
with Digital Equipment Corporation (NYSE:DEC - news). Under the agreement Digital Worldwide
Services will resell DataStage(R), Ardent's industry leading data extraction and transformation
engine, globally. Ardent will leverage the new relationship with Digital to expand its access to the
Fortune 500 market for data warehousing tools.
DataStage is unique among data warehousing tools in supporting Alpha NT, Intel NT, and Digital
UNIX platforms, as well as providing access to information stored on Open VMS systems. Digital
cited this extensive support along with Ardent's worldwide presence in major countries as key
factors in forming the partnership. The agreement with Ardent provides Digital Worldwide Services
with a single tool for data migration that includes extensive functions for data extraction, cleansing,
sorting, aggregation and loading. DataStage's ability to handle complex issues such as writing to
multiple targets, operating system integration and capturing changed data are critical benefits to
Digital's high-end customers, many of which are Fortune 500 companies deploying large scale data
warehouses. Digital's networking and systems integration service professionals will also receive local
pre-sales and post-sales support from Ardent's sales and services staff in the US, Europe and Asia
Pacific.
''After an extensive evaluation of data warehousing tools, Ardent's DataStage product met our key
requirements,'' said Steve Mahoney, vice president of Cross Industry Applications, Digital
Worldwide Services. ''Data warehousing is an important market segment for Digital's consulting
services and DataStage allows us to enhance our services offerings.''
''As a company with one of the largest service, support, and sales networks in the world, Digital
truly understands the needs of the Fortune 500 companies. This segment has the largest data
warehouses in the market and as such, they are the first to experience critical issues such as
application complexity, scalability, and cross-platform maintenance,'' said Pete Fiore, vice president
and general manager of Ardent's Data Warehouse business unit. ''The combination of DataStage's
unique solution to those issues and Digital's world class sales and service network will be very
attractive to companies deploying large-scale data warehouses. Going forward, this partnership
represents a great opportunity for Ardent to leverage Digital's relationships in this market segment.''
According to Digital's Mike Stahl, worldwide practice director for data warehousing services,
''Digital's networking and systems integration services business needed a partner who could support
our worldwide, enterprise data warehousing initiatives on our strategic platforms on a global basis.
Ardent's worldwide presence, particularly the local pre- and post-sales support they can offer in the
US, Europe and Asia Pacific, makes them an ideal partner.''
DataStage streamlines the building and maintenance of data warehouses through its open, scaleable
and extensible architecture. Its visual design tool allows developers to add more data sources,
targets, and transformations without rebuilding applications, thereby reducing cost, time and
resources. Using DataStage's modular Plug-In stages, developers can add warehouse functionality
as they need it. Reusable components cut development time dramatically and produce data
warehouses that grow with the business. DataStage reduces the complexities of the entire data
warehouse life cycle for many of the world's leading companies.
About Digital
Digital Equipment Corporation, recognized for product and service excellence, is a leading supplier
of high performance, Web-based computing solutions which help enterprises compete in the global
marketplace. Digital gives its customers a winning Internet advantage through a comprehensive
portfolio of Internet solutions based on award-winning systems, advanced networking infrastructure,
innovative software, and industry applications including those from its business partners. The
expertise and experience of Digital employees help customers plan, design, implement, manage, and
support Internet solutions in countries throughout the world. For the latest company information, visit
Digital on the World Wide Web at digital.com and/or newsdesk.com.
About Ardent Software, Inc. |
