Purisma launched the latest version of its Purisma Data Hub on October 2.
Purisma Data Hub 3.5, the company’s latest master data management offering, has been updated to use server clustering, rather than a single server. Clustering allows data processing across a grid of up to 16 servers, protecting against server crashes and unavailability. The use of server clusters also speeds up data processing. The clustering technology is compatible with Oracle 10g grids.
Another major update to Purisma Data Hub is the enhancement of its D&B corporate family tree management. This tool allows users to create and view line-of-business hierarchies, which are automatically updated as Purisma partner D&B updates to show current mergers and acquisitions.
“Businesses need a complete understanding of who they’re talking to in terms of corporate identity, so they know where to target their mailing list activities,” Nate Boyd, director of product management for Purisma, said. “The problem with DMD is legal definition; you need to know what the legal outline for companies is like.
“Our customers are more interested in different lines of business within companies – commercial finance, consumer goods, etc. – so they first see the legal hierarchy as one source, and then drag and drop that into the different lines of business and customize that information to keep that view in sync. It’s helping marketing departments because it’s something they can do themselves, and, for the first time, they can build a view of corporate customers.”
The Mydata appliance of the Data Hub is designed for easy installation and use, rather than as an IT-heavy product.
“A lot of business starts in the marketing department or sales department, and they don’t get the terms of some of the technology that’s used, they’re not resonating with business problems,” Boyd charged. “So we package our technology in a way that business owners and sales can get and make work for them, and not just for the IT group.”
Boyd pinpointed two main drivers in MDM: a need for increased customer business intelligence and a need for real-time operations. He asserted that Purisma’s new offerings address these issues, with the business hierarchies application helping the analytical side and server clustering lending itself to faster operations.
Rather than cater to a specific industry-type, Boyd said Purisma focuses more on companies whose sales and marketing departments have business clients.
“An ideal client would be one with specific initiatives that we’re driving, versus a business that has a vague corporate mandate,” he explained. “One sweet spot is people with a mix of business and consumer parties, because we have a unique ability to do corporate-level customer identification and management, to bridge an internal view of the customer with an external view.”
Current clients of Purisma, Redwood City, CA, include BEA, Suez Energy International and Cardinal Health. Strategic partners include D&B, Hyperion, Business Objects and Teradata.
