Information Server

An information server is an integrated software platform consisting of a set of core functional modules that enables organizations to integrate data from disparate sources and deliver trusted and complete information, at the time it is required and in the format it is needed. Similar to how an application server is a software engine that delivers applications to client computers, an information server delivers consistent information to consuming applications, business processes and portals.

An information server application can be considered in three logical tiers: a platform foundation, a layer of information oriented services, and a series of optional modules.[1] Viewed in this construct, an information server looks like this:

Optional components

Services layer

Platform foundation

When fully leveraged on a single platform, the optional components and shared platform services clearly differentiate an information server from other traditional data integration technologies due to its holistic approach to information integration.

Trust

Productivity

Collaboration

Scalability

Reuse

Most key business initiatives cannot succeed without effective integration of information. In fact, the IBM Global CEO survey (Jan 2006) found that organizations that were highly effective at integrating information were five times more likely to generate value than those who were poor at it. Critical business initiatives such as single view of a customer, business intelligence, supply chain management, and Basel II and Sarbanes–Oxley (SOX) compliance require consistent, complete, and trustworthy information. An information server helps companies to integrate information in order to deliver business results within these initiatives faster, with higher quality results.

The core technologies of an information server are not new. Data integration technologies like extract, transform, and load (ETL), data cleansing and matching (both relational and probabilistic approaches), data profiling, and data federation or replication have been around for many years. Reputable vendors and several discrete but inter-related markets focus on solutions for these differing styles of data integration (ETL, data quality, data replication, data federation, etc.).

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