Cast Iron OmniConnect Forges Links Between Cloud, On-Premise Applications

Cast Iron's new OmniConnect software goes beyond earlier generations of the company's technology by providing the ability to bring together information from disparate sources and display it within the native user interface of a single application. Those "mashup" capabilities in OmniConnect are in addition to the data and process integration tools in OmniConnect that were provided by Cast iron's earlier products.

Cloud computing and Software-as-a-Service applications are getting a lot of attention these days with companies adopting them to reduce costs and improve business flexibility. But surveys have shown that the ability to integrate cloud applications with existing IT systems, such as on-premise applications, remains a concern among IT managers and a possible hurdle to cloud computing adoption.

"It's very evident that it's a hybrid world," said Chandar Pattabhiram, Cast Iron vice president of channel and product marketing, in an interview. Most corporate IT systems today are a combination of on-premise packaged applications, software developed in-house, and cloud computing applications -- all of which need to work together, he said.

OmniConnect provides the means for a company to design, run and manage integrations in the cloud without use of on-premise technology, Pattabhiram said. The new Connector Developer Kit makes it possible to build connections to new applications and data sources that can be reused. And a new cloud-based management console provides a way to monitor multiple integrations from a single location.

Solution providers and systems integrators can embed and brand OmniConnect within their own integration solutions, Pattabhiram said. For SaaS ISVs and solution providers, using OmniConnect to tie on-demand applications to other IT systems builds customer loyalty, he said.

OmniConnect is available now in three deployment models: multi-tenant integration-as-a-service, on-premise or hosted virtual appliance, or in a physical appliance.