Industry Leaders Unite to Standardize Enterprise Information Sharing

Strategic Insights -

Five industry leaders, Oracle, Unisys, IBM, NCR, and Hyperion, have come together to propose a common warehouse metadata interchange (CWMI) standard to the Object Management Group (OMG). This standard aims to help companies integrate e-business systems quickly and easily by providing a common format for enterprise systems to exchange data. The proposed standard, CWMI, defines a metadata format for all data warehouse and business intelligence products, reducing software compatibility testing time and costs associated with standard warehouse implementations.

Key Takeaways:

  • The CWMI standard is designed to help companies integrate e-business systems quickly and easily by providing a common format for enterprise systems to exchange data.
  • Over 90 percent of Fortune 1000 companies have either deployed or are evaluating a data warehouse as the foundation for effective decision-making, according to META Group.
  • The proposed standard, CWMI, defines a metadata format for all data warehouse and business intelligence products, reducing software compatibility testing time and costs associated with standard warehouse implementations.
  • The CWMI standard is supported by industry leaders, including Oracle, Unisys, IBM, NCR, and Hyperion, who believe it will significantly benefit companies executing data warehousing, e-business, and knowledge management implementations.
  • The development of the specification was also supported by UBS AG, Genesis Development Corporation, and Dimension EDI.
  • The proposed CWMI standard is a landmark submission that follows the creation of the Extensible Markup Language (XML) by the Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C) and XML Metadata Interchange (XMI) by the OMG.
  • The CWMI standard provides a powerful object model with a set of APIs, interchange formats, and services that span the spectrum of metadata relating to the extraction, transformation, transportation, loading, integration, and analysis phases within data warehousing.
  • CWMI resolves potential integration issues by enabling users to extend the model to meet their specific needs.
  • Oracle, Unisys, IBM, and Hyperion will participate in the OMG to promote the standard and work toward its ratification by early spring of 2000.
  • The proposal review process is expected to conclude with a revised specification submitted to the OMG in the winter of 1999.

Statistics:

  • Over 90 percent of Fortune 1000 companies have either deployed or are evaluating a data warehouse as the foundation for effective decision-making, according to META Group.
  • The proposed CWMI standard will reduce software compatibility testing time and costs associated with standard warehouse implementations.
  • Oracle, Unisys, IBM, NCR, and Hyperion have collectively invested a year of effort to design and develop the CWMI standard.
  • The CWMI standard has been supported by industry leaders, including Oracle, Unisys, IBM, NCR, and Hyperion, who believe it will significantly benefit companies executing data warehousing, e-business, and knowledge management implementations.

Sources:

  • M2 Presswire, September 28, 1999
  • META Group
  • Oracle Corporation
  • Unisys Corporation
  • IBM Corporation
  • NCR Corporation
  • Hyperion Solutions Corporation
  • Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C)
  • Object Management Group (OMG)
  • UBS AG
  • Genesis Development Corporation
  • Dimension EDI