Computer Associates International Inc. plans to announce a software suite that tightly integrates its portal server with business intelligence tools, an end-user dashboard, access-control technology and other capabilities.
The planned rollout is part of a bundling strategy CA detailed last month for its CleverPath Portal software. By combining the portal with various tools, CA hopes to take away some of the integration headaches for IT managers who currently have to try to cobble together different applications, said Ricardo Antuna, senior vice president of CleverPath marketing at CA.
Among the planned enhancements, he said, is the latest CleverPath Portal release. Version 4.5 will have new Java hooks and a redesigned user interface.
CA will also add several options to the portal, including a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol-compliant product that will let IT managers implement single sign-on approaches to authenticate end users who want to access information through the portal.
Compliance Tool
Also coming is a new dashboard-style user interface that will let business executives access key data via a single console, an end-user collaboration tool and a product that can scan a company’s financial data to detect potential fraud. The latter tool, which is being offered through a co-development partnership with McLean, Va.-based IT consulting firm BearingPoint Inc., is aimed at helping companies comply with the Patriot Act and other government regulations.
Antuna said CA will also offer an upgraded version of a software tool that can be used to build business rules into systems. The new release will be able to generate rules that can invoke multiple systems through Web services and create automated business workflows.
CSX Corp. is already beta-testing Version 4.5 of the portal and may upgrade by year’s end, said Lisa Balter, director of commercial applications at the Richmond, Va.-based operator of railroads and other shipping businesses. Currently, CSX runs both CA’s Unicenter enterprise management applications and CleverPath Portal 3.5.
Balter said CSX is also exploring the possibility of rolling out the new end-user dashboard. The dashboard is appealing because it lets end users drill down into data and manipulate the information in different ways, she said. Buying an integrated suite is preferable to installing and linking multiple applications, as long as the functionality meets acceptable levels, Balter added.
CleverPath Portal 4.5 and the regulatory compliance software are available now, and CA said the other tools are due in March. Pricing for the full suite totals about US$200,000.
