New York City based Information Builders Inc has announced a formal strategic partnership with Denver, Colorado-based AS/400 software house JD Edwards & Co that gives JD Edwards use of Information Builders’ newly announced integrated datamart, SmartMart. It also marks the New York firm’s first tentative moves into supplying packages, and gives it access to JD Edwards’ large install base in the AS/400 market. The announcement formalizes an agreement unveiled last October, in which JD Edwards used Information Builders’ SNAPpack products as part of its client-server and enterprise reporting products. Information Builders says users can access the SmartMart for JD Edwards business analysis tools through a web browser or client-server front-end. It claims the new product offers a direct and seamless interface to JD Edwards data which covers specialist areas like human resources, process manufacturing, payroll accounting and logistics. SmartMart is said to include tools for database creation, data extraction and transformation, as well as database middleware, data access and analysis tools, warehouse management tools and an information directory. The company claims the product enables JD Edwards users to create three-tier, high- performance report procedures for client-server, and immediately transfer them to the web without changes. Information Builders’ UK marketing manager Pamela Piper says the new release is part of the growing corporate trend towards buying packages rather than bespoke applications. She adds: this reflects what our customers are doing and will enable them to use our tools in a new environment. The SmartMart for JD. Edwards on AS/400 is shipping now, at $37,000 for a sixteen user license inclusive of a front end, with extraction, transformation and management options – but no database.