Embarcadero Ups Ante in Database Tools Market with Multi-Platform, On-Demand XE Products

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Embarcadero Technologies, long known for providing premium database design, development and management tools for all major database platforms, is unveiling a new line of database products that carry an XE brand. Embarcadero XE products incorporate three distinguishing features – deep, native support across all major databases with a consistent user interface, centralized license management and on-demand tool access via Embarcadero® ToolCloud™, and an easy upgrade path to Embarcadero® All-Access™ XE.

“While domain-specific database tools help meet some of these challenges, companies need to consider how easily these tools can be accessed and managed or their sought-after operational benefits may be limited.”

XE products represent a fundamental shift in the database tools market. Leading vendors, including Embarcadero, have historically offered tools with feature support for multiple databases, but support for each database was sold separately. With Embarcadero’s XE line, support for all database types is included with each product. Embarcadero is also the only vendor providing ToolCloud technology with its products.

“With today’s increasingly complex, heterogeneous database environments, organizations need to maximize the capabilities of IT staff and leverage opportunities for greater automation, efficiency and scale,” said Will Cappelli, research vice president, Gartner. “While domain-specific database tools help meet some of these challenges, companies need to consider how easily these tools can be accessed and managed or their sought-after operational benefits may be limited.”

“We are meeting the challenges of complex IT environments by making it more cost-effective to equip IT staff with the tools they need, while simultaneously making those tools easier to manage,” said Michael Swindell, senior vice president of marketing and products for Embarcadero. “So now, we are not only changing how premium database tools are sold, we are transforming how IT organizations can manage, provision and access those tools so they can optimize their technology spend and improve efficiency.”

Embarcadero XE products are distinguished by the following capabilities:

• Heterogeneous database support: Each XE product includes deep, native database platform and version support for all major databases, including Oracle®, Microsoft SQL Server®, DB2®, Sybase®, MySQL® and more with each product providing a consistent user interface across database platforms.
• Embarcadero ToolCloud-enabled: XE products provide users with on-demand, “zero-install” access to tools, along with centralized license management, which streamline the access, administration and provisioning of tool licenses for organizations with multiple users.
• All-Access upgradeable: Embarcadero products can be upgraded to All-Access XE, a complete, on-demand tool chest for architects, DBAs and developers working in heterogeneous database environments.

Prior to Embarcadero’s new XE product line, data management professionals had two unfavorable options – using rudimentary ODBC/JDBC-based database tools that only provided generic feature support, or using platform-specific tools from database vendors or third-party tool vendors for native feature support and control. Embarcadero’s new XE tools overcome the shortcomings of these options by incorporating deep, native support for all major databases within a single tool, enabling users to extend their skills across both single platform and heterogeneous environments. Inclusion of support for all databases reduces licensing, training and operational costs.

“In the past, a customer would be identified as an Oracle shop or a SQL Server shop, but today’s IT organizations need to manage various types of databases,” added Swindell. “Our new XE products ensure they’re prepared for whatever database comes in front of them.”

XE products also incorporate Embarcadero’s ToolCloud technology. ToolCloud centralizes and simplifies tool licensing and provisioning and gives users click-and-run access to tools via Embarcadero™ InstantOn™ capabilities. This enables users to access the tools they need on-demand with full fidelity and performance and without complex installations.

Embarcadero’s initial introduction of XE products is part of a larger companywide initiative that involves extending the XE brand and capabilities across its data modeling and application development tools later this year. Meanwhile, Embarcadero’s initial line of XE tools include:

• All-Access XE – The industry’s only on-demand heterogeneous tool chest
• DB Change Manager XE – A tool for simplifying, automating and reporting on database changes
• DB Optimizer XE – A tool for heterogeneous database SQL profiling, tuning and monitoring
• DBArtisan® XE – A tool for heterogeneous database administration
• Rapid SQL® XE – A heterogeneous SQL integrated development environment (IDE)

Pricing and Availability

Five Embarcadero XE tools are now available at varying starting prices. Pricing for All-Access XE begins at $2,995, pricing for DB Change Manager XE begins at $795, pricing for DB Optimizer XE begins at $795, pricing for DBArtisan XE begins at $4,995 and pricing for Rapid SQL XE begins at $1,495. All pricing is in U.S. dollars.

About Embarcadero Technologies

Embarcadero Technologies, Inc. is the leading provider of software tools that empower application developers and data management professionals to design, build and run applications and databases more efficiently in heterogeneous IT environments. Over 90 of the Fortune 100 and an active community of more than three million users worldwide rely on Embarcadero’s award-winning products to optimize costs, streamline compliance, and accelerate development and innovation. Founded in 1993, Embarcadero is headquartered in San Francisco with offices located around the world. Embarcadero is online at www.embarcadero.com.

Embarcadero, the Embarcadero Technologies logos and all other Embarcadero Technologies product or service names are trademarks or registered trademarks of Embarcadero Technologies, Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

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