Compex has introduced OS.interchange, a high-performing ETL tool (extract, transform, load) that can handle large tables of several 100.000 data sets within minutes. The new tool is eminently customizable and easy to enhance.
ETL tools request relevant data from other systems, transform them into a different format, and send the result to a receiving system. OS.interchange can contact remote systems in various ways, e.g. via web service using the SOAP protocol, via HTTP requesting a JSON download, or via FTP for an XML upload or download. Moreover, the tool allows users to monitor and manage its processes during ongoing operation. And it archives its data requests as well as the data received. OS.interchange supports the data bases Oracle DMBS, MySQL/MariaDB, and PostgreSQL.
New interfaces easily integrated
OS.interchange makes it easier to develop and apply new data interfaces, along with the corresponding data communication. Several Compex customers are complementing or replacing their existing ETL tools with OS.interchange. As an example, a retailer has facilitated certain transactions with its wholesaler using OS.interchange. Before this, his systems were unable to call the relevant functions on the other side.
A tool for all systems
OS.interchange can be applied in manifold scenarios, e.g. to connect a retailer’s merchandize management system (MMS) in the headquarters with its branches, or to retrieve frequent master data updates from suppliers.
“OS.interchange is a high-performing ETL and data communication tool, and it can be enhanced with new interfaces quite easily,” says Christophe Loetz, general manager at Compex Systemhaus GmbH. “This makes it the right tool at the right time. Commerce is driving digitalization on every level: omnichannel, digital devices in branches, digital communication with customers and suppliers, and so on. This results, of course, in growing requirements that can be dealt with straightforwardly using a tool like OS.interchange.”
Speeding up digitalization in commerce
Omnichannel strategies, these days, go far beyond websites and online shops. They include new channels, such as apps and social media pages, offers on online marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay, and, as of late, “hybrid markets” – online shops that have opened up to third-party sellers. All of these platforms must be addressed in their own ways.
This is also true for store construction. More and more retailers furnish their branches, e.g., with electronic shelf labels (ESL), which are useless without a working connection to the MMS. Practically, every ESL vendor comes with his own interface. The same applies to checkout systems, electronic posters and other displays.
“When consumers see a digital poster, they expect to read the very latest information on it. If they find that one of the promoted offers has, in fact, been sold out for hours, the result won’t be an improved shopping experience,” Loetz went on. “If these systems don’t run in tune with the local MMS, they are nothing but rather expensive decoration. OS.interchange is the right tool to make these connections.”