In the past, when J. K. Wight went to client sites, he had to set aside additional time for design and development tasks that had to be done manually because no tools had been created to speed up the work. As a senior architect and consultant with Teradata for the last 20 years, Wight had gotten used to tweaking clients' databases, building applications and working with SQL manually. Then he started using AtanaSuite and everything changed.

For example, one of Wight's previous challenges was handling standard tasks such as moving data between different Teradata systems, developing scripts and creating utilities. Although the tasks were fairly straightforward, the lack of automation meant he had to go into the database's definitions and make changes manually, a time-consuming process that often had to be repeated for multiple databases. Now, instead of tweaking code, Wight pushes a button and moves on to the next task.

For every job, there's a tool
Development difficulties can include issues like integrating a table from one application into another or changing an index in multiple systems. Even making minor adjustments to a column or certain fields can be time consuming, Wight notes. Because each of those changes had to be done manually, the price of development climbed higher and higher.

The AtanaSuite solution, developed by Teradata Partner Atanasoft, is a set of tools within the products AtanaSuite Active Server, Enterprise, Expert, Professional and Essential that is used to tackle these common types of developmental issues. Starting with the basic tools in Essential, each level is built upon the previous product's tool set up to the more deluxe Server.

With AtanaSuite, each tool undertakes a specific issue, such as exporting, copying or loading, routing the standard tasks through a tool for an automated, standardized path to the end result. This toolkit gives developers greater flexibility for dealing with relational objects on multiple Teradata systems.

enlarge The architectural design displays the various products included in the AtanaSuite solution and how they associate with Teradata Database V2R5 or V2R6.

"When clients come to me with an issue, I can turn their requests around in minutes instead of hours or days," Wight says. "Many times, I can put in features that weren't able to be included in the past. Using AtanaSuite Enterprise Edition isn't just about speeding up my development, it's about allowing me to do things I couldn't do otherwise."

Get the job done faster, better
AtanaSuite is a boon for more than developers, Wight notes. Companies that hire consultants like him, or bring the tools into their own IT departments, will find business benefits through greatly reduced development and support time as well as more robust applications and databases.

In one project, Wight put a new database in production and the company asked to see if the objects were in sync with the development database from which it was created. Previously, Wight notes, such a comparison would not have been possible, or only certain portions of the databases could have been evaluated visually. But with the AtanaSuite DeltaTool, he was able to determine where the database objects differed and automatically create a method to sync them. The whole process took about an hour instead of days, Wight says. In many other cases, tasks can take just a few minutes.

"The AtanaSuite Enterprise tools increase my productivity anywhere from 10 to 1,000 times, depending on what I have to do," he says. "That means my customer gets a more effective solution faster through those major productivity gains."

What's in your toolkit?
Because the AtanaSuite tools are separate and perform specific tasks, Wight and other developers can choose precisely what they need for each aspect of development, testing and operational support. For instance, the FindTool allows developers to locate database objects quickly, while the CopyTool lets them establish a connection with any of their Teradata Databases and drag and drop objects from one to another. If a developer needs to find an object, but not transfer it to another database, there's no need to navigate through a whole toolkit to find the appropriate tools—he can just grab the FindTool and go.

Other tools include JobTool, which allows developers to open an active script job that was created within an AtanaSuite Active Script-enabled tool. Or they can use DependencyTool to see relationships between database objects, or DataTool to browse and edit data within a Teradata Database.

Saving time, money
Until now, feature-rich development test and design tools have been scarce, so Wight believes that as more developers and designers use AtanaSuite, the capacity for creativity will grow. In other words, databases themselves can have more features and address user needs more closely. Rather than a company making a list of what they want in a database and hoping that at least some of the additions can be made—like the creation of servlets, or Web applets—it's likely that developers will be able to use AtanaSuite to check off all of the items on the wish list, and do so with greater speed.

Wight likens the AtanaSuite solutions to the tools one uses in a home improvement project. A builder trying to push nails in by hand will not only take inordinately longer to get the job done, but will also be able to do less work overall.

"Just think of AtanaSuite Enterprise Edition as a comprehensive set of tools in a toolbox in the same way you would a real-life toolkit," says Wight. "If you have the right hammer, screwdriver and other appropriate tools, there's so much you can do, faster and more efficiently."

Visit www.atanasoft.com for a complete list of the tools available within the AtanaSuite product set. T

Minneapolis-based writer Elizabeth Millard covers business and technology.

Teradata Magazine-March 2007