Acta Technology has an extensive vision for the real-time integration of data across an enterprise. We explore how its ActaWorks and eCache products deliver on the promise of this message and where they fit in the market landscape.
In April 2001, Acta Technology released version 5.0 of ActaWorks, its flagship data integration technology. ActaWorks is positioned to address a broad range of data extraction/movement needs, including the bidirectional, real-time integration of data
across a wide range of data sources. This includes the popular relational database management systems, ERP systems (SAP, PeopleSoft, Oracle and J.D. Edwards), other packaged applications (i2 Technologies, Manugistics Group and Siebel Systems) and mainframe data sources (via an original equipment manufacturer relationship with data access middleware vendor Striva). At the same time, Acta also delivered the corresponding version of its eCache products (formerly branded as Acta RapidMarts). Contrary to the common meaning of “cache,” eCaches are not “in-memory” data stores, but rather a set of predefined physical data models and data movement applications targeted at supporting batch analysis and real-time business activity monitoring (sales, human resources, accounts receivable/accounts payable, inventory and plant maintenance) and operational e-commerce applications (customer orders, customer billing and supplier inventory). Via eCaches, enterprises can provide a batch or real-time integrated perspective on the data in operational systems. In addition to addressing a variety of functional gaps in previous versions of ActaWorks, version 5.0 provided adapters for several packaged applications and integration brokers, as well as an adapter software development kit.
Characteristics of Acta’s Products
Acta’s products exhibit characteristics of both ETT and integration brokers (application integration products), making its market positioning and competitive landscape somewhat confusing to enterprises evaluating data integration technologies.
ActaWorks has two significant strengths relative to competitive ETT offerings:
• Acta has always placed an emphasis on real-time and bidirectional extraction, transformation and integration of data — something that most ETT vendors are only beginning to address.
• Acta’s depth of capability for SAP data extraction is attractive to large SAP users, because it is unique among ETT vendors. This is because of support for the full range of SAP interface options (generated ABAP code for batch data extraction, as well as the application-level IDOC and BAPI for real-time, bidirectional integration), which enables access to SAP data in the mode best-suited for the use of the data. In addition, this provides the capability to push data (master data such as customers and products, and transactional data such as orders) into SAP in batch or real time. In comparison to integration brokers, the functionality of ActaWorks is narrow, lacking support for key components, such as business process automation and message warehousing,
which are typically found in such products. Enterprises should view ActaWorks as ETT technology with value-added application integration extensions, rather than as a broad application integration middleware solution.
The majority of enterprises using ActaWorks and eCaches are solving data integration issues involving SAP. These deployments typically fall into two classes:
• ActaWorks is often used to extract data from SAP for populating a custom data warehouse or data mart environment. This commonly occurs in enterprises that have
decided to forego or supplement the use of SAP Business Warehouse for data analysis.
• Operational eCaches are often used to support alternative styles of interaction with SAP data (see Note 1). In both cases, SAP data represents the majority of the scope of
integration requirements. Feedback from Acta users in such environments is very positive in regard to ease of deployment, flexibility and extensibility. This indicates that Acta is successfully delivering on its vision, at least within the realm of SAP-centric
implementations.
Obstacles to Growth
Acta faces obstacles to the continued growth and acceptance of
ActaWorks and eCaches on several fronts.
• Most importantly, although Acta provides functionality (range of data source and target types) similar to that of the leading ETT vendors, it needs to validate competency in the form of substantial implementations of ActaWorks in non-SAP environments. Of the approximately 200 or more deployments of this technology, an estimated 90 percent or
more are using Acta primarily for SAP data extraction.
• Acta must continue to build out the functionality of ActaWorks in the areas of operation/administration (error handling and debugging) and metadata management to
compete more effectively with the predominant ETT vendors.
• Acta must be able to articulate a clear positioning vs.integration broker vendors. Its products exhibit several common characteristics of integration brokers (e.g., real-time
integration, adapters to packaged applications), but lack the complete breadth of capabilities found in such products. As a result, Acta has functional overlap with (but will find it difficult to compete against) vendors, such as TIBCO Software, with whom it also partners.
Bottom Line: The ActaWorks and eCache products are being successfully deployed for real-time, bidirectional movement of data within Acta’s “sweet spot” of SAP environments. Despite exhibiting strengths that are unique among ETT vendors, Acta must prove these capabilities (via production deployments of significant complexity) in heterogeneous, non-ERP environments to ensure continued growth and future success. Enterprises with a priority on SAP data extraction should strongly consider
ActaWorks. Enterprises requiring real-time data integration capabilities in more heterogeneous environments should also consider this solution, but with a significant emphasis on customer references and proof of concept projects.