News
Data General Releases SQL Server Migration Tool
- By Scott Bekker
- October 11, 1999
Data General Corp. (
www.dg.com) today
announced the MUMPS Data Extractor (MDE), a data migration product that helps
users of the proprietary MUMPS language to convert important data to SQL Server
7. The MDE dynamically moves data from the MUMPS based FileMan system to any
SQL Server 7.0 based data mart, data warehouse, or replication database.
In an early implementation of the MDE, Data General and Strategic Reporting
Systems are helping the Veterans Administration Central Iowa Health Care System
migrate MUMPS data from its VISTA application to SQL Server 7.0, so that users
can search for and report important patient information in a more convenient
manner. The MDE also allows users to create and distribute information in a far
more timely manner throughout the enterprise, using commonly available
reporting tools that work with the Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 database. For
example, the Veterans Administration Hospital will now be able to access
"live" data and produce reports within ten minutes, a process that
previously took up to three weeks to complete.
"In our first experience with the MDE it took us only minutes to move
an entire prescription file to a SQL Server database, and access lab data to
see what costs existed in certain areas," says Jim E. Presley, Chief
Information Officer at the Veterans Administration Central Iowa Health Care
System. "We also quickly moved our entire patient database, sorted by
county, and received information on where our patients come from, their age,
and primary diagnosis. The MDE is usable right out of the box and provides the
pathway from MUMPS to Microsoft, so we can do our jobs better, faster, smarter,
and more efficiently."
The user can use the MDE directly on the client for interactive
"quick" data retrieval. For larger jobs, the MDE has the capability
to move large amounts of data from the server into a Microsoft SQL Server 7.0
database, for quality control, performance-based management, or even data
backup. The MDE is slated for general availability in November.
About the Author
Scott Bekker is editor in chief of Redmond Channel Partner magazine.