<s>
An	O
information	B-Device
server	I-Device
is	O
an	O
integrated	O
software	B-Device
platform	I-Device
consisting	O
of	O
a	O
set	O
of	O
core	O
functional	O
modules	O
that	O
enables	O
organizations	O
to	O
integrate	O
data	O
from	O
disparate	O
sources	O
and	O
deliver	O
trusted	O
and	O
complete	O
information	O
,	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
it	O
is	O
required	O
and	O
in	O
the	O
format	O
it	O
is	O
needed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Similar	O
to	O
how	O
an	O
application	B-Application
server	I-Application
is	O
a	O
software	O
engine	O
that	O
delivers	O
applications	O
to	O
client	O
computers	O
,	O
an	O
information	B-Device
server	I-Device
delivers	O
consistent	O
information	O
to	O
consuming	O
applications	O
,	O
business	O
processes	O
and	O
portals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
information	B-Device
server	I-Device
application	O
can	O
be	O
considered	O
in	O
three	O
logical	O
tiers	O
:	O
a	O
platform	O
foundation	O
,	O
a	O
layer	O
of	O
information	O
oriented	O
services	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
optional	O
modules	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Viewed	O
in	O
this	O
construct	O
,	O
an	O
information	B-Device
server	I-Device
looks	O
like	O
this	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
fully	O
leveraged	O
on	O
a	O
single	O
platform	O
,	O
the	O
optional	O
components	O
and	O
shared	O
platform	O
services	O
clearly	O
differentiate	O
an	O
information	B-Device
server	I-Device
from	O
other	O
traditional	O
data	B-General_Concept
integration	I-General_Concept
technologies	O
due	O
to	O
its	O
holistic	O
approach	O
to	O
information	O
integration	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
information	B-Device
server	I-Device
can	O
be	O
deployed	O
to	O
continuously	O
validate	O
the	O
consistency	O
,	O
accuracy	O
and	O
quality	O
of	O
information	O
as	O
it	O
flows	O
from	O
data	O
sources	O
and	O
across	O
applications	O
and	O
business	O
processes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
unified	O
platform	O
with	O
roll-based	O
user	O
interfaces	O
reduces	O
training	O
costs	O
and	O
learning	O
curves	O
previously	O
required	O
to	O
learn	O
and	O
manage	O
different	O
data	B-General_Concept
integration	I-General_Concept
tools	O
from	O
multiple	O
vendors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Critical	O
business	O
initiatives	O
such	O
as	O
single	O
view	O
of	O
a	O
customer	O
,	O
business	B-General_Concept
intelligence	I-General_Concept
,	O
supply	O
chain	O
management	O
,	O
and	O
Basel	O
II	O
and	O
Sarbanes	O
–	O
Oxley	O
(	O
SOX	O
)	O
compliance	O
require	O
consistent	O
,	O
complete	O
,	O
and	O
trustworthy	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
information	B-Device
server	I-Device
helps	O
companies	O
to	O
integrate	O
information	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
deliver	O
business	O
results	O
within	O
these	O
initiatives	O
faster	O
,	O
with	O
higher	O
quality	O
results	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
business	B-General_Concept
intelligence	I-General_Concept
,	O
it	O
helps	O
organizations	O
develop	O
a	O
unified	O
view	O
of	O
their	O
business	O
for	O
better	O
decisions	O
by	O
enabling	O
them	O
to	O
understand	O
existing	O
data	O
sources	O
to	O
cleanse	O
,	O
correct	O
,	O
and	O
standardize	O
information	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
load	O
analytical	O
views	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
master	B-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
management	I-General_Concept
,	O
it	O
helps	O
organizations	O
develop	O
authoritative	O
master	O
data	O
by	O
enabling	O
them	O
to	O
understand	O
where	O
and	O
how	O
information	O
is	O
stored	O
across	O
systems	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
consolidate	O
disparate	O
data	O
into	O
a	O
single	O
,	O
reliable	O
record	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
core	O
technologies	O
of	O
an	O
information	B-Device
server	I-Device
are	O
not	O
new	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Data	B-General_Concept
integration	I-General_Concept
technologies	O
like	O
extract	O
,	O
transform	O
,	O
and	O
load	O
(	O
ETL	O
)	O
,	O
data	O
cleansing	O
and	O
matching	O
(	O
both	O
relational	O
and	O
probabilistic	O
approaches	O
)	O
,	O
data	B-General_Concept
profiling	I-General_Concept
,	O
and	O
data	O
federation	O
or	O
replication	O
have	O
been	O
around	O
for	O
many	O
years	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Reputable	O
vendors	O
and	O
several	O
discrete	O
but	O
inter-related	O
markets	O
focus	O
on	O
solutions	O
for	O
these	O
differing	O
styles	O
of	O
data	B-General_Concept
integration	I-General_Concept
(	O
ETL	O
,	O
data	O
quality	O
,	O
data	O
replication	O
,	O
data	O
federation	O
,	O
etc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
result	O
of	O
these	O
multiple	O
approaches	O
to	O
data	B-General_Concept
integration	I-General_Concept
and	O
the	O
distinct	O
capabilities	O
of	O
the	O
vendors	O
,	O
organizations’	O
approach	O
to	O
data	B-General_Concept
integration	I-General_Concept
has	O
been	O
one	O
plagued	O
by	O
a	O
lack	O
of	O
standards	O
and	O
inconsistent	O
utilization	O
of	O
tools	O
,	O
multiple	O
vendor	O
relationships	O
,	O
problematic	O
conflict	O
resolution	O
across	O
tools	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
lack	O
of	O
unifying	O
metadata	O
to	O
link	O
all	O
of	O
the	O
tools	O
and	O
information	O
together	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
since	O
2000-2002	O
these	O
markets	O
and	O
function-specific	O
vendors	O
have	O
been	O
converging	O
(	O
see	O
“	O
Magic	O
Quadrant	O
for	O
Data	B-General_Concept
Integration	I-General_Concept
Tools	O
2006	O
”	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
customer	O
demands	O
for	O
a	O
more	O
holistic	O
approach	O
to	O
data	B-General_Concept
integration	I-General_Concept
and	O
a	O
natural	O
evolution	O
of	O
vendor	O
technology	O
is	O
quickening	O
the	O
convergence	O
in	O
the	O
marketplace	O
to	O
a	O
more	O
unified	O
and	O
integrated	O
tool	O
set	O
that	O
can	O
streamline	O
approaches	O
to	O
data	B-General_Concept
integration	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additionally	O
,	O
the	O
influence	O
of	O
Web	O
services	O
and	O
service-oriented	O
architectures	O
on	O
organizations	O
today	O
is	O
requiring	O
that	O
data	B-General_Concept
integration	I-General_Concept
vendors	O
expand	O
their	O
capabilities	O
around	O
delivering	O
information	O
as	O
a	O
service	O
so	O
it	O
can	O
easily	O
be	O
consumed	O
by	O
business	O
processes	O
,	O
applications	O
,	O
and	O
portals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
October	O
2006	O
,	O
,	O
the	O
first	O
entry	O
into	O
this	O
new	O
category	O
of	O
data	B-General_Concept
integration	I-General_Concept
tools	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
the	O
first	O
unified	O
software	B-Device
platform	I-Device
able	O
to	O
deliver	O
all	O
of	O
the	O
functions	O
to	O
integrate	O
,	O
enrich	O
and	O
deliver	O
trusted	O
information	O
for	O
key	O
business	O
initiatives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
Information	B-Device
Server	I-Device
’s	O
architecture	O
meets	O
all	O
of	O
the	O
criteria	O
that	O
define	O
it	O
as	O
an	O
integrated	O
software	B-Device
platform	I-Device
for	O
information	O
integration	O
,	O
and	O
certainly	O
establishes	O
a	O
functional	O
benchmark	O
for	O
other	O
vendors	O
looking	O
to	O
say	O
they	O
have	O
an	O
information	B-Device
server	I-Device
too	O
.	O
</s>
