Sybase Inc said yesterday it has acquired Data Warehouse Network (DWN), an Ireland-based, privately-held vendor of packaged, industry-specific business intelligence applications, which it will market and sell with its Sybase Warehouse Studio. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Under the acquisition, Sybase’s Business Intelligence Division will sell DWN’s customized decision support tools into eight vertical segments: retail banking, credit cards, insurance, telecommunications, healthcare, distribution, retail and utilities. Each packaged application contains industry data models and queries that reflect common questions asked within those given industries such as workflow, measurements, reporting requirements, terminology and data types as well as a common physical database design. Combined with its Warehouse Studio, the new applications will form the cornerstone of Sybase’s new business intelligence division, the company said. This acquisition is very significant for our customers. With these applications we are now truly able to extend beyond our traditional enterprise software offerings to provide line-of- business managers with industry-specific, knowledge-based solutions, said John Chen, chairman, CEO and president of Sybase in a prepared statement. Some 25 consultants and the three-man management team of DWN will transfer to Sybase, including Sean Kelly, CEO and president, who now becomes director of European operations for Sybase’s business intelligence division, reporting to Eric Miles, senior VP and general manager of the division. Miles said Sybase had decided to buy, rather than build, the technology, because of the length of time associated with developing business intelligence tools. He said DWN had been working exclusively on the technology since 1993. Now it has finally perfected the data models and query sets it made sense for Sybase to purchase the company rather than begin work on its own applications. He said that there were no immediate plans to expand to other vertical industries, adding that the next stage would be to concentrate on setting up a network of distribution partners and Vars. These will work primarily within Europe and North America but Sybase intends to expand its efforts to the Asia Pacific region next year. The applications will be sold independently, into each vertical market and will come bundled with Sybase’s metadata management products, Warehouse Architect and Warehouse Control Centre (from its Warehouse Studio). But customers won’t be forced to use a Sybase database, Miles added, rather the applications will run on any of the leading database products. The applications are available immediately.
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