Enterprise reporting tools specialist Actuate Software Corp, has announced ReportCast, a set of internet multicast software tools, for its Report Server package, that enable the delivery of database reports to client systems, down publish and subscribe channels. Enterprise Reporting, is the periodic queering of a mainframe database, by a server, to return progress reports, which are returned in an collated form. The package consists of the Actuate Report Server which queries the database and generates, stores and distributes information, using the Actuate Web Agent, which creates custom web pages tailored to individual user profiles. Its Live Report Extensions are browser extensions which come as either a Netscape Plug-in, an Active X Document Server, or a Java Applet. The server software is compatible with Unix and NT platforms. The system supports both current flavors of push technology, Netscape Communications Corp’s Netcaster, and Microsoft Corp’s Channel Definition Format, so that corporate content can also be carried on other intranet channels. The ReportCast package will be available in the autumn of this year, at a cost of around $800 per user, and will be marketed direct, and by Actuate’s value added re-sellers, who include Vantive Corp, Forte Software Inc, and Progress Software Corp, for integration into their applications. Actuate’s customers are currently in the financial, healthcare and telecoms sectors. San Mateo California based Actuate was founded in 1993, and started up by refugees from various database and tools companies, and its chief executive officer is Nicolas Nierenberg, the founder of Unify Corp.
