Stacking Up

Why Informatica's new product architecture stands out

Analysts continually debate whether an all-in-one or best-of-breed approach is the better IT strategy. Currently, the pendulum seems to swing toward a modular approach that lets companies take advantage of vendor strengths without abandoning their current infrastructure investments.

Calling itself the first vendor to take a plug-and-play approach that lets customers pick and choose the three layers of their business analytics stack, Informatica Corp. (www.informatica.com) announced its break from a monolithic, end-to-end strategy.

According to Sanjay Poonen, Informatica vice president of worldwide marketing, "Customers can no longer afford to buy IT in massive amounts. We've seen this in ERP, SCM [supply chain management], and other enterprise software markets, where large vendors [such as] SAP and i2 Technologies Inc. have modularized their products with good success." Poonen says that Informatica's new approach will make business analytics projects more "digestible" by enabling smaller implementations that can be more quickly deployed for fast return on investment.

For example, the newly announced Informatica Warehouse comprises 14 plug-and-play modules that align to specific subject areas (including those in CRM, finance, HR, and supply chain), which customers can purchase and use one at a time or combine a la carte. According to Poonen, "The modular approach gives our customers an out from the build vs. buy debate, allowing them to buy only what they need, when they need it."

Similarly, Informatica's new standalone PowerAnalyzer product was previously only available as the front end to Informatica Applications or with PowerCenter. Poonen states that Informatica decided to break this platform out as a standalone product based on market and customer feedback.

Intelligent Enterprise contributing editor Mark Smith, president of Full Circle Strategies and an industry analyst covering business intelligence (BI), has a mostly positive view of Informatica's entry into the standalone BI tools segment. "In a crowded market, one more player could be difficult, but Informatica has large IT mindshare with PowerCenter," he says. "And because PowerAnalyzer has some good end-user capabilities, the company has an opportunity to compete against vendors such as Business Objects."

Smith is also impressed by Informatica's new strategy overall: "By taking a different approach and enabling business users to get information on a more timely basis, Informatica is moving in the right direction."

— Michelle M. Young

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