
28 DB2 II and WPS Synergy
3.1 Introduction
A number of business trends are driving the need for integration of data and
processes across employees, customers, business partners, and suppliers. The
inherent heterogeneity of hardware and software platforms in intranets and
extranets presents unique challenges that must be overcome in order to gain a
competitive advantage in the global economy.
In this chapter we discuss the current business trends fueling integration
demands, IBM’s DB2 Information Integration solution, and IBM’s federated DB2
Information Integrator V8.1 offering.
3.2 Current business trends
To keep up with the evolution of e-