Although Platinum Technology Inc supposedly controls a significant portion of the market for software repositories which store application components for re-use and enable developers to share designs and use multiple programming tools, our European sources say Platinum will from today have a key role to play in promoting the Microsoft Corp Repository. Platinum’s Wall Street boosters say that in addition making the Repository available on Unix, mainframes and other platforms – most anything that touches Unix Microsoft subcontracts to third parties – Platinum’s likely to meld its own repository to Redmond’s model over time. Although Oakbrook, Illinois-based Platinum did not return our calls by press time, as we originally reported (CI No 3,199), the company is set to become a key player in Microsoft’s future repository and data modeling strategy. In addition to Sterling Software’s TI Software unit – which co-designed the blueprint upon which the MS Respository is built – Platinum and Rational Software, Microsoft is today expected to reveal a slew of new partners for its Repository. It’s also expected to bring some of its disparate database, Unified Modeling Language and component application development models into line and seek widespread industry approval for some common developer APIs, including a new information model. In addition to the likes of Rational, Popkin, Select Software, LogicWorks and TI Software, several dozen companies are expected to be asked to review the plans. Platinum’s repository is at the heart of its long-overdue POEMS Platinum Open Enterprise Management System, a framework which is supposed to link development and management products from its 25- odd acquisitions, plus third party applications. Although Platinum’s repository has already been adopted by top-tier ISVs such as PeopleSoft, there’s currently little compatibility between the variety of repositories, database and other information modeling tools available to developers. Microsoft and its partners, including Platinum, will tomorrow seek to drive some common technologies and APIs into widespread use. An early cut of the POEMS repository, released in February (CI No 3,098) attracted criticism from vendors, who were expecting an enterprise-strength repository rather than the cut-back desktop or workgroup system that emerged. The Platinum repository technology comes from its Brownstone Solutions Inc and Reltech Group Inc acquisitions a few years ago (CI No 2,640, 2,790). POEMS – which apparently goes by the codename of Godzilla – is supposed to debut next month.
