CARY, N.C., REDMOND, Wash., and SUNNYVALE, Calif., Nov. 21, 2002 — Hyperion (Nasdaq
“HYSL”
), Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) and SAS today announced a new release of the XML for Analysis (XMLA) specification. XML for Analysis Specification Version 1.1 provides an updated specification and API standard for vendors to access multidimensional databases as a Web service. It is the first version of the XMLA specification to be created in conjunction with members of the XMLA Advisory Council, a standards group that was formed after Hyperion and Microsoft released XML for Analysis Specification Version 1.0 in 2001.
XML for Analysis Specification Version 1.1 is available for Web download at http://www.xmla.org/ .
Council Membership Grows
In addition to the new release of the XMLA specification, the XMLA Advisory Council announced that it has added seven new members. The new council members — Crystal Decisions, INEA, MIS AG, MJM Consultant Corp., Panorama Software Systems, SAP AG and Silvon Software, Inc.– bring additional analytics expertise to the group.
“With the new specification and additional council members, we’re gaining important momentum in the adoption of XMLA as a standard for creating web-based analytic solutions,”
said Robert Gersten, chief development officer for Hyperion.
“This will help ensure that businesses have an open standard that is scalable to meet distributed analysis needs across the enterprise. Toward that end, Hyperion has already incorporated support for XMLA in the upcoming version of Hyperion Essbase XTD, our open, integrating platform for business performance management.”
“We gladly welcome the new members to the XML for Analysis Council. Their support is further proof that XMLA is an important focus for major business intelligence vendors,”
said Bill Baker, general manager of SQL Server (TM) Business Intelligence at Microsoft Corp.
“Microsoft is committed to providing customers and partners with rapid and easy access to analytic applications. The XMLA protocol delivers on this by creating a standard for Web-based business intelligence. The new specification provides another step toward Microsoft’s vision of making business intelligence more pervasive and more accessible to everyone.”
“SAS is pleased to announce with the other co-chairs the release of the XML for Analysis 1.1 specification,”
said Keith Collins, senior vice president and chief technology officer for SAS.
“The addition of new council members signals the growing momentum and market acceptance of an open, scalable, standards-based specification that benefits enterprise class customers. SAS continues to be actively involved in moving the specification forward as an open standard for business intelligence and we plan to incorporate such standards in future products.”
The new council members join a growing group of industry leaders that have previously announced their support for XMLA. The primary drivers of the XMLA specification include Hyperion, Microsoft and SAS. XMLA Council members also include Alphablox, ANGOSS Software Corp., Applied OLAP, Applix, Inc., Aspirity, ArcPlan, Inc., Brio Software, Business Objects, Cognos, Comshare Inc., DSS Lab, Inc., Lawson Software, MicroStrategy, ProClarity, Inc., Simba Technologies, SPSS Inc.,Temtec and Vigilance, Inc.
Working Session for XMLA
In addition to releasing the new Version 1.1 of the XMLA specification, Hyperion, Microsoft, SAS, and Simba Technologies recently hosted an interoperability workshop in Vancouver, British Columbia November 6-8 to demonstrate the new XMLA standard working on an open, integrating platform for the analytics and business intelligence marketplace. The successful event provided a forum for XMLA council members to begin work on subsequent versions of the specification, as well as providing council members the opportunity to test XMLA consumers against XMLA provider offerings. Software providers testing their products included Comshare, Hyperion, Microsoft, MicroStrategy, SAP, MIS AG and Simba. Consumers included ArcPlan, Aspirity, Microsoft, MIS AG, ProClarity and SPSS.
The event marked the first time that member companies with client applications using the specification could test against analytic data providers that support XMLA. A total of 20 XMLA Council members were represented at the event.
“Our hosting the XMLA InterOperate Workshop demonstrates our commitment to ensuring widespread adoption and robust development of the XMLA standard and is consistent with our core competency of facilitating and providing connectivity between leading business intelligence vendors using open industry standards,”
said Amyn Rajan, president and CEO of Simba.
“It was a successful event, further advancing the XMLA standard in a manner that is beneficial to the business intelligence marketplace.”
About XMLA
The XML for Analysis (XMLA) advisory council is made up of a number of leading business intelligence software vendors that have announced their support and backing of XMLA, a set of XML message interfaces that use the industry standard Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) to define data access interaction between a client application and an analytical data provider working over the Internet. The council has jointly published an XMLA specification that allows corporate developers, third party tool vendors and other partners to query analytical data providers in a standard way. The new standard is expected to accelerate the adoption of Internet business intelligence software and increase the market for those technologies.
To learn more about XMLA, please visit our Web site at http://www.xmla.org/ .
About Hyperion
Hyperion, the global leader in business performance management software, creates solutions that help companies measure performance and drive profitability. Hyperion’s Business Performance Management Suite of packaged and tailored applications and its open, integrating business performance management platform, Hyperion Essbase XTD, enable companies to set goals, model and plan performance, monitor and report key results, analyze underlying business drivers and anticipate future performance of core business activities. Hyperion products are used by more than 6,000 customers around the world to enable financial, organizational, customer relationship, supply chain and channel performance management. Hyperion has a network of over 330 partners to provide innovative and specialized business performance management solutions and services.
Headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, Hyperion generated annual revenues of $492 million in fiscal 2002. The company employs more than 2,200 people in 20 countries and is represented in 16 additional countries through distributor relationships. Hyperion is traded under the Nasdaq symbol HYSL. For more information, please visit www.hyperion.com, www.hyperion.com/contactus or call 800 286 8000 (U.S. only).
About Microsoft .NET Enterprise Servers
Microsoft®
.NET Enterprise Servers are Microsoft’s comprehensive family of server applications for building, deploying and managing next-generation integrated Web experiences that move beyond today’s world of standalone Web sites. Designed with mission-critical performance in mind, .NET Enterprise Servers provide fast time to market, as well as scalability, reliability and manageability for the global, Web-enabled enterprise. They have been built from the ground up for interoperability using open Web standards such as XML. The .NET Enterprise Servers are a key part of Microsoft’s broader .NET strategy, which will enable a distributed computing model for the Internet based on Internet protocols and standards to revolutionize the way computers talk to one another on our behalf.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
About SAS
SAS is the market leader in providing a new generation of business intelligence software and services that create true enterprise intelligence. SAS solutions are used at more than 39,000 sites – including 98 of the top 100 businesses on the Fortune 500 – to develop more profitable relationships with customers and suppliers; to enable better, more accurate and informed decisions; and to drive organizations forward. SAS is the only vendor that completely integrates leading data warehousing, analytics and traditional BI applications to create intelligence from massive amounts of data. For more than 25 years, SAS has been giving customers around the world The Power to Know®
. Visit us at www.sas.com.
About Simba
Simba Technologies is the leading data access company. We deliver data connectivity and interoperability solutions to many of the world’s leading companies on various platforms including Windows and Linux. Our best-in-class products support multiple open interfaces, including ODBC, JDBC, OLE DB, OLE DB for OLAP and XML for Analysis (XMLA.) For more information, view www.simba.com , e-mail [email protected] or call 604-633-0008, Extension 2.
Hyperion and Essbase are registered trademarks and Hyperion Solutions is a trademark of Hyperion Solutions Corporation.
Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
All other trademarks and company names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.
