Companies inject wares with metadata tracking, expanded integration Data warehousing took center stage as SAS and Informatica announced extensions to ETL (extract, transform, load) products last week.SAS Institute unveiled the newest version of SAS Enterprise ETL Server, which has a wizard user interface and a new tracking capability for metadata.Enterprise ETL Server also promises to shorten the development cycle for real-time use of data by using message queuing products such as IBM WebSphere MQ, Microsoft MQ, and Tibco Software TIB/Rendezvous. Informatica, meanwhile, is taking a different tack with the release of PowerCenter Advanced Edition, which will expand its ETL data integration capabilities beyond traditional data warehouse applications, according to John Entenmann, executive vice president of corporate marketing and strategy at Informatica.Traditional ETL tools are used to pull out source data, transform and clean it in a needed format, and load it into the warehouse. Informatica will use that same technology for any kind of cross-enterprise integration.Targeted markets for PowerCenter Advanced edition include BPO (business process outsourcing) hosts, companies migrating from legacy systems, and companies consolidating through mergers and acquisitions. Mark Smith, CEO of Ventana Research, said that Informatica is simplifying the data integration exercise.“It allows a company to purchase data integration technology in a single package at a set price,” Smith said. Software DevelopmentDatabasesData WarehousingTechnology IndustrySmall and Medium Business