Smarter Business Intelligence

As business intelligence evolves from a tactical to a strategic information technology, demands that systems be up 24 hours a day are on the rise. Information Builders Inc. on Tuesday unveiled WebFocus Autonomic Server, software that will make the WebFocus business-intelligence system self-monitoring and self-optimizing.

The Autonomic Server is part of WebFocus 5.5, which is scheduled for availability in the third quarter. It's the linchpin of Information Builders' efforts to improve the scalability, manageability, and reliability of its software. New business-intelligence functionality was the hallmark of WebFocus 5.0, which debuted earlier this year.

Business-intelligence tools, once largely limited to departmental deployments, are increasingly being deployed on a companywide basis. "Scalability is all the rage in BI," Dan Schultz, data administration and reporting manager at U.S. Bank, said at Information Builders' user conference in Chicago. Combined with a growing emphasis on real-time data analysis, this means that companies need business-intelligence software that's as reliable as their core IT systems, says Aberdeen Group analyst Bob Moran.

WebFocus Autonomic Server will continuously monitor WebFocus' vital signs, such as average query-response times, the number of tasks running, computer capacity, and available memory. The system will automatically balance workloads among servers in clustered environments and alert IT staffers to problems.

Also at the conference, Information Builders' iWay Software subsidiary unveiled version 5.5 of its suite of integration software. It's available now, with new intelligent routing capabilities in the XML Transformation Engine; support for Java Messaging Services; and support for a range of vertical business integration standards such as UCCnet, an industry-endorsed initiative to resolve product data inaccuracies among trading partners, and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act specification 4010A.