IBM Corp.’s researchers are working on projects to improve heterogeneous data integration and to enable grid computing.
One endeavour, known as Project Clio, involves providing a mapping tool to look at data schemas and collections and deduce what transformations need to be made to integrate data sets, according to Laura Haas, IBM distinguished engineer for information integration and database query processing, in San Jose, Calif. Data will be viewed holistically so that inconsistencies can be reconciled, Haas said. The goal of Clio, according to IBM’s Web page on the subject, is to build a tool for creating mappings between two data representations semi-automatically, with user input. The technology is usable in applications such as data warehousing. An offshoot of Project Clio, code-named chocolate, is intended to enable mapping of XML documents to other XML documents. IBM anticipates there will be different ways of packaging the technology and views it as a tool for federated data sources, Haas said. XML documents can be mapped from the way they are originally structured to the way they are to be presented to the user, said Haas.
Akamai extends relationship with Yahoo
Akamai Technologies Inc. recently announced an extension of its service agreement with Yahoo Inc. under which the Internet portal site will continue to use a number of Akamai’s e-business infrastructure services.
The agreement calls for Akamai, in Cambridge, Mass., to provide Yahoo with a suite of services, including global content delivery, global traffic management and global IP (Internet protocol) intelligence, which is designed to tailor ads to visitors’ interests. Yahoo also has extended its agreement to use Akamai’s Enhanced DNS (domain name system) service, which is designed to ensure that Yahoo user requests are handled promptly, Akamai said in a news release. Previously, America Online Inc. (AOL) expanded its relationship with Akamai. That deal calls for AOL to deploy Akamai’s edge servers within its backbone network.