|
Q: What is a Meta Solution and why is it so important to today's B2B, E-Business and corporate wide applications?
A: Most organizations have information duplicated in several systems distributed across the enterprise, often globally. This requires maintenance of the same information in several different locations, reducing the quality of the data and making it difficult to access the most recently updated information. Key data or identity data are very important for many organizations involved with B2B, E-Business and also control applications. Identity data can be information about employees, customers, partners and general resources. This information has traditionally been contact information, but we now see that this is extended to be more critical business related information. This information will also be used for differentiating what “resources” people and applications will have access to and rights for in the total network environment.
A Meta Solution will increase the availability and quality of the information by interfacing with and extracting information from the various systems, based on the quality of each piece of information and its need. The Meta Solution can provide adjustments, updates and synchronization of this data and make it available to the applications and user inquiries in a timely manner. Additionally, a Meta Solution will allow a user to have a predetermined set of access rights and capabilities to the knowledge stored across the enterprise and provide Real-Time access to the set of data he is authorized to work with in the various repositories.
Q: What are the key elements that make a complete Meta Solution?
A: A true Meta Solution must be Vendor Independent to work with all of the repositories it will interact with across the organization. It will allow updating and synchronization of all types of data including home grown, legacy and proprietary formats in an easy and flexible way, in addition to providing Real-Time access to data geographically distributed across an organization. It should have a modular design to allow for a distributed implementation so that the capabilities will be close to the data sources to be administered locally or centrally based on the organizational requirements and technical expertise of the various locations.
Q: When you say you are truly vendor independent, why is that really important to your Channel partners and an end user of your solution?
A: MaXware is not a provider or reseller of a directory or database of any kind. We have the capability to be implemented in any client environment. We do not need to specify to the user that they must implement a specific vendor’s directory or database. We can be implemented within the existing client architecture and can create a Meta Directory configuration in any existing directory appropriate to the application and the client’s specifications.
Q: How are virtual directories different from directories and meta-directories?
A: In general, directories store and supply information to a specific application. Directories can come in multiple forms, the most common are X.500 directories and LDAP-based directories. But directories can also be tables of information found in relational databases or even text files. Even the information about users in a Network Operating System (NOS) can be considered a directory (e.g. Windows NT). Meta-directories are able to read multiple directories of all types, and where information about individuals may be duplicated between these directories, it can join and automatically flow data changes bi-directionally, ensuring all directories contain the most up-to-date information at all times.
Virtual directories are optimal in those cases where a directory containing information from various data sources is needed: Multiple directories where no overlapping information is stored. An example would be where multiple businesses would like to combine their private directories into a shared business directory. The virtual directory solution in this case is less complex, provides faster query processing times and is less costly than a meta-directory solution.
Q: How does MaXware's Solution differ from other Meta Directory solutions in the market?
A: MaXware EMS includes different modules that together build a unique solution but may also be used independently from each other:
-
A very flexible and fast Join Engine
-
Real time access modules for end users to directly access the data sources
-
Different EMS modules may be added over time to address the dynamic changes in an organization.
-
A unique central management module that makes it easy to manage a distributed solution or a solution that is expected to grow in complexity over time.
Q: How can your Meta Solution assure secure access to critical and sensitive information to Internet based clients while providing availability of the most up to date data?
A: The MaXware Virtual Directory offers access to the data sources while denying the user to see or touch the repository. In this way we act as a filter and screen but present the data back to the user in the format he needs. Further a single inquiry can result in a multi server and database search which is hidden from the user. The results are “joined” and presented to the user on the fly.
Q: How do you manage a large multinational organization with information repositories spread across the globe?
A: The modular and flexible design of EMS makes it possible to distribute Access Engines and Synchronization Engines close to the sources and still have centralized control over the processes. The different modules may talk to each other or directly to the local data repositories thus providing both security and flexibility.
Q: What do your built-in templates offer that is different than other vendors' connectors or adapters?
A: The EMS standard built-in templates are GUIs created by our engineers and assist the administrator in setting up the synch or access processes by instantly integrating with the repository format and provide suggestions for the proper configuration options available to the process. It is also possible to develop specially designed templates that are highly customized making deployment even easier within the organization.
Q: How does the MaXware Enterprise Meta Solution handle my home grown Perl Scripts to integrate into my newer applications and platforms?
A: External modules, either as .EXE files, COM-objects or interpreted Perl-scripts could be an integrated part of the EMS. Many customers choose to use these existing routines as part of pre- or post-processing in a synchronization solution.
Q: Can your EMS help me prepare and clean my distributed data for migration to a new LDAP Directory architecture and keep it updated in the future?
A: Yes, the MaXware EMS Data Synchronization Engine has the capability to read and secure clean data formats so that they conform to the global needs of the organization event though data originally were captured from many different systems and departments where they are formatted for other applications and requirements. The DSE will respect the ownership of the data and use the most trusted information and format for the various data types requested and provide all of the attribute mapping and data conversions required to provide clean, consistent data for the next process. In most cases jobs used to clean, join and bulk-load the directory in the first place are used to maintain it later.
Q: When you say MaXware offers a unique partner program, could you explain what you mean?
A: We have designed a true partner plan which will give us the opportunity to participate together in the successes and challenges of the marketplace. Further, we offer the most comprehensive training programs which include on site support by our senior technical consultants for pre and post sales efforts. We also join our partners in market positioning and strategy sessions on a regular basis to keep ourselves up to date on changing market situations. Additionally, we have a firm policy that we will never compete with our partners and not actively market to the end user community but rather bring all leads and inquiries to our partners.
Q: How does MVD extend e-business applications faster than traditional directory or meta-directory solutions?
A: MVD implementation is designed to complement existing environments and reduce the efforts required to implement directory enabled applications. It is an adaptive strategy that can be deployed without going through the efforts necessary to get a common data schema and formatting strategy between multiple parties. Instead of forcing a particular data format upon multiple partners or systems, MVD allows you to convert each partner's format into a common data scheme needed for a particular application. MVD provides the translation layer so that existing applications and data stores do not need to be changed in the way a traditional directory or meta-directory strategy would require.
Q: Can I get a trial evaluation copy of the MVD software?
A: A 30-day trial version of the MVD software is now available on request. For further details contact sales@maxware.com
|
