Dataversity: Ibrahim Surani of Astera Software on Data Integration

Our founder and CEO Ibrahim Surani was recently interviewed by Charles Roe of Dataversity regarding his outlook on the data integration and management industry. We’ve shared some of his thoughts in this blog post.

DV: What do you see as the most significant trend happening at this time within the data management industry?

Astera Software:  The most significant trend we see in the data management industry today is that data is now everywhere. It has moved from within the physical confines of the company to the partner sites to the cloud. Today’s successful businesses are connected at all times— connected to their data, connected to their partners and customers, connected to their internal divisions. The ability to access and share information whenever and wherever needed is enabling more agile and flexible companies with deeper insights, more streamlined and efficient processes, and stronger customer and partner relationships.

DV: How is such a trend going to affect your particular business focus? How does your product/service address that trend?

Astera Software:  This trend towards integrating and sharing the same data on demand via the cloud plays directly into our business focus and validates the planning and development we’ve been doing over the past several years to take our expertise in data integration to the next level. Enterprises need a platform that integrates data not only from internal databases but from the cloud and partners as well. Through our latest offering, Centerprise RT, we are able to meet current and future demand by providing a product that not only offers all the technologies needed to integrate the massive volumes of complex, unstructured data being generated, but enables sharing in real time through the deployment and use of web services.

We have also seen in the past couple years that enterprises are not shying away from evaluating and ultimately purchasing products from smaller players such as ourselves when those products meet their needs more fully and more economically than those of the industry leaders.  Industry-leading analysts like Gartner are talking about a big shift in the market centering on the fact that there is a desire for different thinking and different approaches, and a willingness on the part of buyers to take some risk in adopting newer offerings rather than simply going with the big vendors by default.

DV: What is the biggest challenge your customers are facing when it comes to data management?

Astera Software: Our customers range from global enterprises like Raymond James Financial, Hewlett Packard Co., Bank of America, and the USDA to smaller organizations with relatively simple data integration needs. They are looking to us to efficiently and cost-effectively solve their complex hierarchical data integration challenges such as building and managing data warehouses, integrating in-house and Cloud applications, and managing integration with business partners, among other applications.

DV: How are you as a company working to address that challenge?

Astera Software:  We are working side-by-side with our customers to ensure that the unique technologies we develop, and in which they invest, continue to meet their needs today and into the future. The key to complex, hierarchical data management is superior data mapping functionality. Data mapping is very difficult and must be done correctly in order to deliver the desired results. Astera’s expertise is in this area and we are continually innovating new technologies that advance complex data management capabilities, both on premise and through the Cloud. Centerprise RT is a major step in helping our customers address the challenge of integrating in-house and Cloud applications and managing disparate business partners, and we have major products in development for future challenges.

DV: What’s the most exciting thing currently in your product or development pipeline that customers can look forward to in the near future?

Astera Software:  The biggest thing we have in the pipeline is the establishment of Centerprise as .NET-based Cloud integration platform for enterprise. Centerprise RT is the first step in this direction, and we plan on rolling out the full platform within the next year.

 You can read the complete interview here>>