Why work with Formida Fire?

Here’s what’s changed that makes enterprise-deployment of applications using complex data so important now.

Because IT officials at companies everywhere support users whose growing expectations of the Intranet/Internet are to use more than standard text and numerical data, the introduction of tools for developing and deploying applications that contains complex data — across LAN, WAN, and Internet (the Web) — would be very good news.

Today, however, the vast majority of users can only access standard text and numerical data, which represents about 15-20% of an organizations total information assets. Vital business information such as product photo images, spatial mapping, CAD, and video data generally remains trapped in proprietary databases & applications, and is rendered useless to other departments within the enterprise — all of which makes Formida Fire and web deployment an especially important alternative right now.

Xmarc’s Formida Fire — an advanced suite of tools for developing applications — and its web deployment option, Formida Fire for the Web, links complex data (including spatial, image, video, audio, and time series), and distributes the resulting rich applications to clients throughout the enterprise far more quickly and easily than was previously possible.

Restrictions to mainstream uses of complex data are rapidly lifting based on evolving technology linchpins.

1. Object-relational platforms now accommodate complex and all other data types. They support high processing demands, are scaleable to serve increasing numbers of users, and are vendor-interoperable with other open, client/server platforms.
2. There is much activity underway to integrate and migrate existing databases to fully leverage new solutions utilizing complex data. Xmarc partners globally as an application-enabler with Oracle, IBM, and Informix, for their object-relational databases.
3. Early adopters of complex database technology also require a means for easily and rapidly deploying these newer, data-rich, graphical applications at a lower cost. Not surprisingly, they look to the Internet which is fast becoming the preferred transport vehicle.

With the same TCP/IP underpinnings as existing company LAN and WAN environments, the Internet combines numerous advancements in bandwidth and high-speed transmission that have gained wide acceptance. These aspects are, in fact, primary requirements for most companies who have decided to incorporate object-relational databases and are evaluating the purchase of application development tools.

Xmarc’s Formida Fire Documentation