ZapThink Report: DataDirect XQuery™ Simplifies Data Integration

Bedford, MA — April 13, 2006 — DataDirect Technologies, the unparalleled leader in data connectivity and mainframe integration, and an operating company of Progress Software Corporation (Nasdaq: PRGS), today announced the findings of an independent report on DataDirect XQuery™, a powerful Java™ component for integrating relational and XML data using XQuery. The new study was written by ZapThink, a leading IT research and advisory firm specializing in XML, Web Services, and Service Orientation. The report concludes that DataDirect XQuery offers companies the means to win out at long-lived data integration challenges because it leverages the power of standards, allowing the user to determine the runtime infrastructure.

“Zapthink’s research report confirms the challenges faced by systems integrators are real, and that DataDirect XQuery offers a powerful, scalable and standards-based approach for integrating relational and XML data”, said John Goodson, vice president of product operations, DataDirect Technologies.

The report is now available for free download at http://www.datadirect.com/zapthink_report. Here are some of the highlights of the ZapThink’s findings:

* The W3C XQuery standard has recently emerged as a robust technology that is well suited for common data integration needs.
* The XQuery approach uses a standards-based representation for data (XML) with a standard query and transformation language (XQuery), rather than proprietary data adapters, tightly-coupled integration middleware, or complex mapping technologies.
* A key challenge in implementing Service Oriented Architectures (SOA) comes from trying to piece together data from multiple systems in a way that makes them easy to understand and process.
* XSLT has proven to be too cumbersome and too complex to manage large-scale data integration. The XQuery language was designed to support data integration as well as native XML queries, and it is gaining traction for both purposes.
* XQuery’s concise and powerful syntax simplifies data integration through XML querying and transformation. Users develop XQueries that join or aggregate data from diverse data sources, and produce XML as output.
* DataDirect XQuery provides unified data access across XML and relational data, leveraging XQuery as the primary language for data manipulation, composition, and transformation.
* DataDirect XQuery is easily embeddable, works with most databases and application servers, and leverages the latest and most important standards for data access and XML.

To download a copy of the ZapThink Report on DataDirect XQuery, please visit http://www.datadirect.com/zapthink_report.
About DataDirect XQuery™

DataDirect XQuery™ is the first embeddable component for XQuery that implements the XQuery for Java™ API (XQJ). It supports all major relational databases on any Java platform. DataDirect XQuery allows you to query XML, relational databases or a combination of the two, integrating the results for XML-based data exchange, XML-driven Web sites, and other applications that require or leverage the power of XML. DataDirect XQuery installs easily; it does not require its own server infrastructure and is scalable from desktop to enterprise applications. DataDirect XQuery is designed for software developers and independent software vendors (ISVs) who need to manage heterogeneous data sources in XML applications. DataDirect XQuery is scheduled for commercial release in September, 2005. For more information, visit www.datadirect.com/products/xquery.
About DataDirect Technologies

DataDirect Technologies is focused on standards-based data connectivity, enabling software developers to quickly develop and deploy business applications across all major databases and platforms. DataDirect Technologies offers the most comprehensive, proven line of data connectivity components available anywhere. Developers worldwide at more than 250 leading independent software vendors and thousands of corporate IT departments rely on DataDirect® products to connect their applications to an unparalleled range of data sources using standards-based interfaces such as ODBC, JDBC and ADO.NET. Developers also depend on DataDirect to radically simplify complex data integration projects using XML products based on the emerging XQuery and XQJ standards. DataDirect Technologies is an operating company of Progress Software Corporation (Nasdaq: PRGS), a US$300+ million global software industry leader. Headquartered in Bedford, Mass., DataDirect Technologies can be reached on the Web at www.datadirect.com or by phone at +1-800-876-3101.

DataDirect and DataDirect XQuery are trademarks or registered trademarks of DataDirect Technologies Corp. in the U.S. and other countries. Java and all Java based marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. Any other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

Contact Information

Nancy Vodicka

Product Marketing Manager

DataDirect Technologies

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