Embarcadero Technologies , a leading provider of software solutions for application and database development, today announced the new XE7 version of ER/Studio, its award-winning flagship data architecture suite. ER/Studio XE7 delivers new capabilities to enhance data architecture, address emerging industry technologies and techniques, and improve the user experience.

ER/Studio XE7 is a powerful business-driven data architecture solution that combines data modeling, design, and reporting with cross-organizational team collaboration for data architectures and enterprises of all sizes. With new glossary enhancements, ER/Studio XE7 increases visibility into data and metadata assets for both IT and business professionals. New Agile change management capabilities help keep data models relevant with fast-changing databases and applications, while automatically applied naming standards improve usability. Also available in a 64-bit version, ER/Studio XE7 can process larger data models with improved performance on key operations such as compare and merge.

“Data professionals are constantly driving to ensure data models are current and aligned with databases, applications, and the underlying business, while business professionals and analysts strive to understand the organization’s data and its context for quality decision making,” says Michael Swindell, Senior Vice President of Products at Embarcadero. “ER/Studio XE7 is the first data modeling platform to truly bridge these needs by enabling data architects to better manage data models and metadata in complex and dynamic enterprise environments while collaborating directly with business professionals who can access and contribute to the quality of the data assets and glossaries. ER/Studio helps improve the overall quality, comprehension, and use of a company’s data across every role in the organization.”

ER/Studio XE7 Benefits and Features

  • Visibility across the organization: Both data and business professionals benefit from glossary enhancements that provide better visibility into an organization’s data. ER/Studio XE7 offers tight integration with the ER/Studio Data Architect data dictionary that allows modelers to see glossary terms and definitions in real-time for consistency, while changes to glossaries and terms can be tracked with detailed audit trail histories. Business professionals can more easily find, update, and report on glossaries, terms, and objects with the enhancements made to the Advanced Search function in ER/Studio XE7.
  • Agile change management: ER/Studio XE7 offers Agile change management, including tasks and version history. Data professionals can now better track model changes and associate them with Agile workflow tasks, identify and analyze data source impacts, and ensure consistency across models with automatically applied naming standards.
  • Improved usability: A new ‘Start Here’ welcome page with dynamic content (such as how-to videos) improves the user experience and shortens learning ramp-up time. In addition, ER/Studio XE7 simplifies the data modeling process with the automated application of naming standards between logical and physical models.
  • Continued support for multiple platforms: Embarcadero continues to provide extensive support for relational and schema-less (“Big Data”) database platforms, as well as enabling customers to integrate data from other platforms such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions (e.g. SAP, Salesforce, and JD Edwards) by formalizing a technology partnership with Silwood Technology.

“We are extremely pleased to have entered into a partnership with Embarcadero. Combining our technologies will enable customers to bring the power of ER/Studio to bear on the world’s largest ERP and CRM packages. The XE7 release demonstrates how ER/Studio is continuing to bring innovative data modeling and architecture capabilities to the industry. Our flagship product, Safyr, extends those capabilities even further by allowing users to import complex metadata from ERP solutions such as Salesforce and SAP into ER/Studio models. Our partnership with Embarcadero helps customers to dramatically reduce the time and costs associated with finding the detailed metadata they need to understand and utilize the data models and structures that underpin their packaged Enterprise solutions,” says Roland Bullivant, Sales and Marketing Director, Silwood Technology.