WebWeek

Lots of Data Types, One Front End

At 3M spinoff, Web unites Notes, Oracle and MVS systems

Imation took a look at the data forms it has--Oracle databases, Lotus Notes repositories, and IBM mainframes--and decided it would try to make them all jump through the same hoop, that of a Web browser front end. "We're already doing some intranet-to-database connectivity, and there's much more to come," said Dan Mallin, Imation's electronic marketplace manager.

Its attempt to do database applications on its intranet still puts Imation into a relatively select group of companies. While no exact numbers exist, experts believe most companies are still using the intranet as an electronic bulletin board of HTML pages, and that giving employees access to data stores through a browser lies more in the realm of fantasy than fact.

The early exceptions seem to be companies with significant technical resources, of which Imation, with 10,000 employees and $2.3 billion in annual revenue, is a good example.

And indeed, Mallin and his team have been focusing on the possibilities of the intranet since last November, even before the spinoff from 3M took place.
"It's the lowest-cost delivery mechanism for all sorts of information," Mallin said of his company's intranet decision. "We're looking to leverage the flow of information so we can communicate better.

"We view the intranet as a merger of multiple technologies, so pieces of our intranet are built with Lotus Notes and workflow behind it, pieces are built with database behind it, and pieces are standard HTML and management. With the opportunity to start from scratch, this is the direction we chose to go."

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