Altova Names DB2 9 as Preferred Data Server for XML Applications, IBM Selects Altova Software Products as Tools of Choice for pureXML on DB2

December 6, 2006; 02:17 AM

Altova^® (http://www.altova.com), creator of XMLSpy^® and other leading XML, data management, UML, and Web services tools, today announced a strategic partnership with IBM. Under the terms of this agreement IBM will actively promote Altova’s line of application development and data management software products as the tools of choice for working with DB2 9, and Altova will build deeper integration with DB2 9 into its products, including groundbreaking document search, query, and exchange capabilities.

“Altova was the clear choice when it came to selecting a tools vendor for our DB2 9 pureXML data server,” said Bernie Spang, director IBM data servers. “Altova XMLSpy is well known in the industry as the de facto standard IDE for XML and is highly regarded by IBM customers. In addition, Altova offers several other XML, data management, and Web services tools that are powerful, easy to use, and, like XMLSpy, already provide essential connectivity to DB2.”

“Altova and IBM share thousands upon thousands of mutual customers, and this partnership is designed to provide them – and anyone needing to access, utilize, or store XML content – with the best possible XML / data server solution,” said Tim Hale, Director of Marketing for Altova. “Bringing together the world’s leading database-enabled XML tools from Altova and the industry’s most advanced XML-enabled data server from IBM in a tightly integrated solution will empower developers and DBAs with unsurpassed information management capabilities.”

Work is already underway on the announced deep integration of Altova’s XML, data management, and Web services tools with the IBM DB2 9 pureXML data server, and the first related product enhancements are expected to emerge from Altova product development and quality assurance in early 2007. Even now, Altova XMLSpy, MapForce, StyleVision, and DatabaseSpy currently provide a myriad of capabilities beneficial to data-oriented technology professionals.

Database-enabled Altova products

XMLSpy 2007: XMLSpy is the industry standard XML development environment for modeling, editing, and debugging all XML-related technologies. It offers the industry’s top XML editor, the original graphical schema designer, a code generator, file converters, debuggers, profilers, a revolutionary new WSDL designer, support for SOAP, XSLT, and XQuery, plus Eclipse and Visual Studio .NET integration. XMLSpy 2007 currently supports the following database capabilities:

• Connects to IBM DB2 and all major relational databases
• Infers XML Schemas from existing database schemas
• Imports relational data into XML
• Exports XML data to relational databases
• Generates database schemas from XML Schemas

Learn more about XMLSpy at:

http://www.altova.com/products/xmlspy/xml_editor.html.

MapForce 2007: MapForce is the premier data integration and Web services implementation tool. It provides a visual interface for mapping between any combination of XML, database, flat file, EDI, and/or Web service, then it converts data on-the-fly or auto-generates program code for royalty-free use in data integration or Web services applications. Languages for code generation include XSLT 1.0/2.0, XQuery, Java, C++, and C#. MapForce 2007 currently supports the following database capabilities:

• Connects to IBM DB2 and all major relational databases
• Converts data from any supported database type to any other
• Converts data from one database schema to another
• Maps data from XML, flat files, EDI, and/or Web services into databases
• Maps data from databases into XML, flat files, EDI, and/or Web services
• Connects database data sources to Web services operations

Learn more about MapForce at:

http://www.altova.com/products/mapforce/data_mapping.html.

StyleVision 2007: StyleVision is the ultimate visual stylesheet designer for transforming XML and database content into eye-catching HTML pages, PDF reports, and Word/RTF documents, and intuitive Authentic^® electronic forms. StyleVision is standards based and supports XSLT, XSL:FO, CSS, and JavaScript. It is optimized for single source publishing and allows multiple output styles from a single stylesheet design. StyleVision 2007 currently supports the following database capabilities:

• Connects to IBM DB2 and all major relational databases
• Renders database and XML content for output as HTML pages, PDF reports, and Word/RTF documents
• Generates database-enabled electronic forms for use with Authentic, Altova’s free XML and database content editor

Learn more about StyleVision at:

www.altova.com/products/stylevision/xslt_stylesheet_designer.html.

DatabaseSpy 2007: DatabaseSpy is the unique multi-database query and design tool that eases SQL editing and database structure design for a fraction of the cost of single-database solutions. It is designed to save time and ensure accuracy thereby liberating data management. DatabaseSpy 2007 currently supports the following database capabilities:

• Connects to IBM DB2 and all major relational databases
• Allows connections to multiple databases of differing types simultaneously
• Facilitates SQL query writing with capabilities like code completion, syntax coloring, drag & drop construction, and more
• Presents database tables, views, and data in easily negotiable windows
• Enables graphical design and visualization of database schemas

Learn more about DatabaseSpy at:

http://www.altova.com/products/databasespy/database_tool.html.

Availability and pricing

Altova XMLSpy 2007, MapForce 2007, StyleVision 2007, and DatabaseSpy 2007 are all currently available with pricing starting at (USD) $499, $249, $499, and $129 respectively. These products may be purchased directly from the Altova Online Shop at: https://shop.altova.com. 30-day free trials of all Altova products may be downloaded from: http://www.altova.com/download.html.

Altova XMLSpy 2007, MapForce 2007, and StyleVision 2007 are also available in the Altova XML Suite, which bundles the world’s leading XML development tools at specially discounted prices. Pricing starts at (USD) $740.

Special limited-time offer: Now until December 24, 2006, customers who purchase a new license or an upgrade to the Altova XML Suite 2007, or purchase a Support and Maintenance Package renewal for an existing Altova XML Suite license, will receive a free license for Altova DatabaseSpy 2007.

Learn more about the Altova XML Suite and the special limited-time offer at:

http://www.altova.com/products/xml_suite/xml_tools.html.

With deep integration of its database-enabled tools with DB2 9 already in development, Altova recommends the purchase of the Support and Maintenance Package (SMP) with all software purchases. Altova SMP provides free software version upgrades, maintenance releases, and priority technical support for the duration of the support period. SMP can be purchased for 25% of the product license price for a one-year period, or 20% per year for a two-year period. SMP renewals are available beginning 90 days prior to expiration.

Learn more about Altova SMP at:

http://www.altova.com/support_package.html.

Learn more about IBM DB2 9 and all IBM Information Management solutions at:

http://www.software.ibm.com/data.

About Altova

Altova accelerates application development and data management projects with software and solutions that enhance productivity and maximize results. As an innovative, customer-focused company and the creator of XMLSpy and other leading XML, data management, UML, and Web services tools, Altova is the choice of over 2.5 million clients worldwide, including virtually every Fortune 500 company. Enabling customers ranging from vast development teams in the world’s largest organizations to progressive one-person shops, Altova’s line of software tools fulfills a broad spectrum of business needs. Altova is an active member of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and Object Management Group (OMG) and is committed to delivering standards-based platform-independent solutions that are powerful, affordable, and easy to use. Altova was founded in 1992 and has headquarters in Beverly, Massachusetts and Vienna, Austria. Visit Altova on the Web at http://www.altova.com.