IBM Debuts Federated Records Management System

IBM on Wednesday unveiled software that lets companies manage electronic records in disparate document-management systems. The announcement came as IBM, after completing its $1.1 billion acquisition of Ascential Software last Friday, offered an update on its information-integration strategy.

The new IBM Federated Records Management system combines IBM's DB2 Records Manager and WebSphere Information Integrator Content Edition tools into one product that allows companies to manage as a single entity electronic records maintained in systems from IBM, EMC Documentum, FileNet, and other vendors, said Janet Perna, general manager of IBM's information management unit, at a press conference.

The Federated Records Management software incorporates technology from Tarian Software, which IBM acquired in 2002, and Venetica, which IBM bought in 2004. The product, available now, is priced according to configuration and includes software licenses, maintenance, and consulting services.

IBM also disclosed that the next release of Ascential's data-integration software, formerly called DataStage and now renamed WebSphere Data Integration Suite, has entered beta testing and is expected to be available later this year. The software, code-named Serano, will provide new information search capabilities and added metadata-management and data-profiling features.

Skyworks Solutions Inc., a manufacturer of cell-phone semiconductors, welcomes IBM's efforts to improve integration among its own products and with products from other vendors. "From my point of view, that's very appealing," says Kristofer Williams, Skyworks' electronic-commerce program manager. The company uses Ascential and IBM software, but Williams also would like to see improved integration with other IBM software such as Notes Domino and Rational development tools.

"A lot of the work we do in IT is integrating IT systems. And that accounts for the majority of our IT spending," says John Jaye, first VP of commercial-client solutions at ABN Amro Services Co. ABN Amro uses Ascential's DataStage software and IBM's WebSphere application server and messaging software to run its wire-transfer payment system. Like Skyworks, ABN Amro expects to upgrade to the new release of Ascential software, code-named Hawk, when it's available.

Unlike competing IT vendors that want businesses to store all their information in a central relational database, IBM is pursuing an information-integration strategy to allow companies to link structured and unstructured information, such as data, documents, and electronic records, across disparate systems, Perna said. "The point here is flexibility."