Data integration software provider Informatica today announced Informatica Cloud Summer 2012, the latest release in its family of cloud-based data integration services. This new release includes a new Cloud Integration Developer website; customizable Cloud Integration Templates; an enhanced Java-based Cloud Connector Toolkit for building and delivering high-performance native connectivity to cloud or on-premise business and social apps; and expanded coverage for the Informatica Cloud Data Loader service.

“Customers and developers now realize how critical data integration is to the success of any cloud-computing initiative,” Darren Cunningham, vice president of product marketing at Informatica, told SD Times. “The Informatica Cloud Summer 2012 release is a major step forward for our integration Platform-as-a-Service, making it easier to embed dynamic templates into cloud applications, expanding our cloud-based connectivity, and introducing new tools and a community for developers.”

Informatica Cloud Summer 2012 provides new pre-built, reusable and customizable Cloud Integration Templates. The templates remove multiple steps from the integration process, such as the building of sophisticated workflows between systems. Deployment and maintenance costs can be dramatically reduced while the ROI of cloud integration projects is accelerated.

The company is also announcing an enhanced Java-based Cloud Connector Toolkit for building and delivering high-performance native connectivity to cloud or on-premise business and social apps. The Cloud Connector Toolkit also supports new advanced hierarchical data modeling, which allows apps with complex object relationships to make use of new data integration scenarios.

This release also introduces an Informatica Cloud Integration Developer website as part of the Informatica Cloud Community. This new website shows developers how to build custom integration applications and extensions to the Informatica Cloud applications. It gives developers SDKs, code samples, documentation, best practices, and a collaboration venue for Informatica’s Cloud APIs, Cloud Integration Templates, and Cloud Connector Toolkit.

Also included in this release is expanded coverage for the Informatica Cloud Data Loader Service, which is free and now supports NetSuite and Microsoft CRM Dynamics (it previously only supported Salesforce CRM and Force.com). Informatica Cloud Data Loader allows developers to rapidly migrate millions of records in and out of cloud applications without any programming, and provides advanced functionality such as transformations and automatic scheduling.

Informatica Cloud Summer 2012 is currently in pre-release. Informatica Cloud customers will be automatically upgraded to the new release when it comes out in August 2012.