Kalido Launches Data Warehouse Lifecycle Management -DWLM- Software Suite- KALIDO(R)DWLM Suite supports closer IT and business alignment for improved corporate transparency and performance management information - LONDON, UK, Oct. 27, 2003 -- Kalido, the leading data warehouse lifecycle management (DWLM) software provider, has launched the KALIDO(R)DWLM Suite, a data warehouse and master data management software portfolio for DWLM. The software application suite automates the creation and modification of enterprise data warehouses as well as the management of master data to speed and improve reporting of enterprise financials and performance information throughout organizational change. The KALIDO DWLM Suite supports data warehouse lifecycle management disciplines for master data-aligned data warehouses, from initial inception to operation, through maintenance and a lifetime of modification without the need for programming. It also features the ability to consolidate data from disparate systems, eliminating the requirement for enterprise-wide standardization on operational systems. These capabilities enable the IT organization to closely align with the business to provide timely, accurate management reporting information. In addition, the software application suite dramatically reduces speed of implementation, project risk, and total cost of ownership compared to traditional data warehousing solutions (custom-built and Enterprise Resource Planning-based). The KALIDO DWLM Suite builds on the success of Kalido's flagship product, the KALIDO(R) Dynamic Information Warehouse(TM), now in use by large organizations such as Cadbury Schweppes, HBOS plc, Intelsat, Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies (Shell), Philips, and Unilever. The KALIDO DWLM Suite packages the KALIDO Dynamic Information Warehouse in three new editions: Enterprise, Standard and Entry. The suite also introduces Kalido's major new functionality for master data management, KALIDO(R) Master Data Manager(TM), now at beta testing stage. Joe Kraus, VP & CIO of Intelsat Global Services Corporation, said: "The KALIDO software for data warehouse lifecycle management (DWLM) has been instrumental in delivering knowledge to our executives as we make our historic transition from an inter-governmental organization to a commercial company, and from a satellite communications company to a network connectivity solutions provider. It would have been impractical to sustain a custom-built data warehouse project as we continue to evolve. The rapid turn-around of information enabled by the KALIDO DWLM approach ensures data quality while driving the realignment of our operational systems to meet the expanding needs of our executive and management teams." The KALIDO Dynamic Information Warehouse editions offer a number of distinctive features for preparing, implementing, operating and managing data warehouses. These include an advanced business modeling environment for graphically configuring the KALIDO data warehouse(s) without programming. The editions also incorporate functionality for corporate memory management, data mart management, and star schema generation. The KALIDO DIW Enterprise Edition is designed for multiple, global-scale data warehousing requirements for Global 2000 organizations with the need to build and deploy multiple, linked data warehouses in different countries or across different regions or divisions. The edition supports synchronization of integrated KALIDO data warehouses to run as one logical data warehouse in order to give flexibility for both global and local level reporting. The KALIDO DIW Enterprise Edition includes the KALIDO Master Data Manager functionality. The KALIDO DIW Standard Edition is targeted for large-scale data warehouse requirements found in all major national and international corporations. It is designed for initial standalone projects, and has the ability to scale without re-implementation or programming to the KALIDO DIW Enterprise Edition as the projects evolve to wider usage within the enterprise. The KALIDO DIW Entry Edition is suited to the departmental or small data warehouse in large organizations, for example the customer loyalty functions in a marketing department. It offers a rapid introduction to DWLM and can be fully upgraded without programming or re-implementation. As companies often need to trial data warehouses before they are put into the field, the KALIDO DIW Editions come packaged with a warehouse management server so that each warehouse can be operated as a development, test or production warehouse. KALIDO Master Data Manager is an adaptive master data management system designed as a central repository for master data (such as shared data about products, customers, and suppliers) to support best practice data warehousing. KALIDO MDM allows users to store, consolidate and manage master data used by data warehouses, operational and analytical systems. In addition, the system enables the master data to be published back to these systems for increased harmonization of the data. The KALIDO DIW Standard Edition is currently available. The KALIDO DIW Entry Edition will first become available through Kalido's reseller channels by the end of 2003. KALIDO MDM and KALIDO Enterprise Editions are scheduled for first customer shipment by the end of 2003. All KALIDO DWLM Suite products and editions will become generally available in the first half of 2004. How the KALIDO DWLM Suite supports IT and business alignment The KALIDO DWLM Suite enables the enterprise data warehouse and its master data to remain in step with business reporting needs through Kalido's UK-patented core technology. This ground-breaking technology is based upon a unique method for storing data within a time-variant framework so that it can be easily interrogated and rapidly amended in reaction to changes in a business. This technology, combined with a graphical user interface, enables complex business model representations to be easily created and modified in the data warehouse through a 'point and click' operation. The resulting data warehouse provides executives with fast, consolidated views of the business, such as its financials, customers, brands, sales, marketing, supply and logistics no matter what the business structure is or was at any given time. This ability enables business executives to make decisions based on fact; to compare present, past and predicted performance; and to proactively manage regulatory compliance. By automating the business model creation and modification in the data warehouse, the KALIDO DWLM Suite forms the heart of an end-to-end, best practice business intelligence (BI) architecture that can adapt to changing business models. KALIDO DWLM Suite not only manages the data lifecycle within the data warehouse but also the data warehouse's interaction with the broader BI environment. The software suite complements Extract, Transform and Load (ETL) tools, which load data from source systems into the data warehouse, and BI tools, which deliver business reporting from the data warehouse. Cliff Longman, chief technology officer, Kalido, said: "Owing to their rigid structures, custom-built and ERP data warehouses often struggle to keep up with the business, and as a result, executives cannot get access to critical business intelligence in a timely manner for reporting, analysis, and planning purposes. Data warehouse lifecycle management based upon adaptive data warehousing and master data management enables IT to closely align with the business to provide up to date and accurate financials and performance management information." Frank Buytendijk, vice-president, Gartner Inc, said: "Most data warehouse project plans focus entirely on technical aspects of initial implementation and change is thereafter seen as a production issue. This does not reflect reality. Enterprises need to adopt a methodology where both business and IT align themselves during the entire life cycle of the data warehouse." Andreas Bitterer, research vice-president, META Group, commented: "The necessary alignment of changes to businesses, markets, and organizations with the corresponding business intelligence and data warehousing initiatives has always been a major challenge for enterprises. Management of the data warehouse lifecycle helps improve the timeliness and quality of management information and reduces the risk of decision making from wrong data, as it provides an environment to help the IT organization reduce the backlog of data warehouse change requests." About Kalido Kalido is the leading data warehouse lifecycle management (DWLM) software provider. The KALIDO(R) DWLM Suite automates data warehouse creation and modification to provide business users with timely and consolidated management information throughout organizational change. This ability empowers IT and the business to become more closely aligned to help accelerate financial reporting and enhance performance management of key business entities such as customers, brands, sales, marketing, supply and logistics. The KALIDO DWLM Suite consists of adaptive data warehouse and master data management software. This software application portfolio allows users to rapidly build and maintain an enterprise data warehouse and its master data without the need for programming or operational system standardization. The software suite is designed upon UK-patented technology that enables the business model within the data warehouse to be easily modified to keep it continuously up to date with the business as it changes. Kalido's software reduces the creation and lifecycle maintenance staffing costs of data warehouses by 55 per cent or more compared to custom-built solutions according to an independently audited study. Kalido serves major companies in over 100 countries including Cadbury Schweppes, HBOS plc, Intelsat, Philips, Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies (Shell), and Unilever. A privately-held software company, Kalido is headquartered in Burlington, Mass. and London, UK and has regional sales offices throughout the United States, United Kingdom, and France. Kalido works closely with technology partners and large system integrators for the deployment of Kalido data warehousing projects. More information about Kalido can be found at: http://www.kalido.com. About Data Warehouse Lifecycle Management Data Warehouse Lifecycle Management (DWLM) empowers organizations to effectively manage master data-aligned enterprise data warehouses from initial inception to operation, through maintenance and a lifetime of modification. Compared to traditional data warehousing approaches, DWLM delivers faster data warehouse implementations, allows faster adaptation to organizational change, and reduces backlogs of data warehouse change requests. These abilities ensure that data warehousing implementations remain in step with the business to dramatically improve the quality of management information and significantly reduce project risk. Contacts Kalido Zoe White, +44 20 7934 3300 zoe.white@kalido.com or Kalido US Agency Contacts: Imagio PR Emilia Palaveeva/Allison Parker, +1 206 625 0252 kalido@imagio.com or Kalido UK Agency Contacts: Brands2Life Gareth Thomas/Rebecca Tyrer, +44 20 7386 6200 kalido@brands2life.com |