COMPANIES TO WATCH: INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

Editors' Choice Awards 2008

Composite Software. This innovator provides an abstracted (location-independent) data services layer. Composite is well prepared for an emerging era in which clustered services and virtualization are becoming architectural norms.

Cast Iron Systems. Turning data integration into a drag-and-drop affair, Cast Iron's appliances are a no-brainer for those connecting enterprise applications to SaaS (software as a service) environments. As composite apps gain traction, the rapid-deployment, rapid-change approach will win over more fans.

Coral8. It's not a question of "if" but "when" CEP (complex event processing) will take real-time, event-driven applications mainstream. Coral8 will help make this happen, drawing on deep experience, strong partnerships and long-term investment. It's a likely acquisition target for CEP wannabes.

DATAllegro. This firm's open, hardware-independent approach to the data warehouse appliance is catching on. DATAllegro's innovative, grid-enabled design offers flexibility for multi-appliance, hub-and-spoke deployments.

HP. HP introduced the Neoview data warehousing platform and acquired the BI-focused Knightsbridge Consulting in 2007. That's just scene one in the opening act of HP's larger move into enterprise software. More launches and major acquisitions are in the cards for 2008.

Initiate Systems. Extending its expertise in customer data integration and building on its experience in the multi-constituent healthcare field (provider, insurer, retail pharmacy, etc.), Initiate is a leader in the emerging area of MDM (master data management).

ParAccel. Column-store databases are nothing new; it's well known that they offer super scalability and blazing query response in analytic applications. ParAccel is an upstart that's blowing by established price and performance benchmarks.

Siperian. This vendor's MDM solution is well suited to SOA (service-oriented architecture) environments, and it is particularly adept at hierarchy management. Siperian is advancing the technology while also addressing the need for data stewardship and ongoing governance.

StreamBase. In-Q-Tel, the CIA's technology investment firm, doesn't throw its money around just anywhere. The agency's 2007 investment in StreamBase is a validation of both CEP and this firm's ability to rapidly develop genuinely "real-time" apps in which needles are spotted in haystacks of streaming data.

TIBCO. This company has its hands in all the right places: analytics, business activity monitoring, business process management, complex event processing, master data management, rich Internet applications and more. At the core is industrial-grade information integration and messaging. TIBCO is a blue chip that's well prepared for the future.