Challenge

EidosMedia is a worldwide leader in developing content and knowledge management systems for news and media organizations, and is recognized for its highly successful Méthode editorial platform.

"When we drew up the blueprint for the editorial system that was to become Méthode [ten years ago], we knew that we were going to need an object-oriented database,” said Stefano Delli Ponti, EidosMedia’s chief system architect. “The kind of data we would have to handle was complex and relatively unstructured - news stories with associated multimedia, page layouts with their geometry and multi-edition information. We knew that storing that kind of data in a conventional relational database would result in performance penalties. At the same time we wanted maximum flexibility to add and change data fields without having to completely modify the database structure.”

Solution

With these requirements in mind, the EidosMedia team began to examine the various object-oriented database solutions available, subjecting each to a programme of stringent comparative testing. “Performance, robustness and scalability were the characteristics we were looking for,” said Stefano. “The Méthode platform would be serving up to a thousand or more users in fast-moving news environments. Editorial platforms are mission-critical systems and have to provide 24/7 reliability for their users.”

After examining the alternatives, the choice fell upon the Versant solution. “We were impressed by the speed of response delivered by Versant’s dual-cache system and the robustness of the solution,” said Stefano. “We noted that Versant had proved its reliability in demanding environments such as banking and defense.”

Results

Ten years later, the Versant database solution powers the new-generation Méthode editorial platforms that have been adopted by global publishers such as the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times and a large number of leading media companies in Europe, the USA and elsewhere. The database solution now serves a total user base of over 10,000 at 50 different deployment sites.

“Mission critical applications that manage large volumes of non-traditional data structures are at the core of our markets,” states Dirk Bartels, Vice President of Marketing and Product Strategy at Versant Corporation. “EidosMedia is one of those innovators creating game changing applications for their vertical markets. Their vision in selecting Versant and long-term strategy is paying huge dividends today. We continue to work closely together with EidosMedia to support the ever growing installed base as well as continuing to develop our database platform for their future requirements.”

About EidosMedia

EidosMedia develops new-generation knowledge-management and publishing systems for news and media organizations. EidosMedia Méthode allows editorial content to be published simultaneously through multiple channels from print, Web and mobile to tablets, e-readers and syndicated distribution. At the same time, it provides an enterprise-wide knowledge resource management platform and workflow environment, highly configurable to meet the needs of the largest, most distributed media organizations. Based on XML, CSS and SVG standards, object-oriented technology and distributed, multi-tier architecture, Méthode provides an integrated, ergonomic workspace in which virtual teams can draw on multiple knowledge sources to create high valued-added content for distribution via multiple publication routes.

For further information visit www.eidosmedia.com