Avaki first to converge compute and data grids in new software solution

"AVAKI 2.0 is based upon proven technology deployed in some of the country's most sophisticated commercial, government, and research computing environments", said David Fish, CEO of AVAKI. "We have begun to work with industry-leading companies such as Compaq and Sun to help advance grid computing in the enterprise world. Our expertise has brought us to the forefront of this market place, leading us to truly understand the opportunity such technology presents businesses today."

"Compaq views grid technology as an important, emerging area of computing", said Bill Blake, Vice President of High Performance Technical Computing at Compaq Computer Corporation, "and we believe that AVAKI's object-oriented paradigm for managing and distributing applications and data is unique in the emerging grid computing landscape."

AVAKI 2.0's unique data grid capability enables secure access to data across wide-area and multi-platform computing environments. Data can be securely accessed, without being physically moved, from remote locations by applications and users. Companies in the Life Sciences industry, for example, are facing an explosion of data in the post-genomics world, and are simultaneously experiencing the need to collaborate extensively with one another. These facts, combined with a projected 100x increase in data volume, demand a new approach to data sharing and access, such as AVAKI data grids.

"Grid solutions are quickly becoming a mainstream phenomena", explained Wolfgang Gentzsch, director, grid computing, Sun Microsystems. "AVAKI is clearly offering technology that encompasses all the required capabilities to enable and manage cross-organisational access to shared resources, including scalability, administrative control, built-in security and automated failure recovery."

AVAKI 2.0 features integrated, robust, fine-grained security that spans grids covering multiple administrative domains, sites and even company boundaries, providing authentication, access control and encryption. AVAKI 2.0 was built from the beginning with integrated failure detection and recovery services, ensuring system availability and resiliency in the face of inevitable system failures, which are the norm, not the exception, in complex systems.

Gartner predicts, by 2005, Web Services will drive a 30 percent increase in the efficiency of IT development projects. All of AVAKI 2.0's capabilities are built upon a unique Web Services-oriented grid protocol. Extensible naming, secure mutual authentication, location transparency, and support for migration transparency constitute the core services of this protocol, and form the basis for AVAKI grids.

"A grid is a heterogeneous network that appears and functions like one large operating environment, and Web Services are about application-to-application connectivity across heterogeneous environments", Mr. Fish stated. "We believe that grids are, therefore, the natural platform for Web Services. While giving enterprises the power to simplify large heterogeneous networks, AVAKI 2.0 also ultimately positions businesses for future deployment of Web Services."