ZapNote: Active Data Exchange
Active Data Exchange focuses entirely on the challenge of helping companies build infrastructures to support content syndication and exchange. Their flagship product, Active Data Syndicator, gives users the ability to aggregate content from multiple sources and package it for delivery to distribution end points. The company’s advanced syndication software allows users to create content packages and setup new subscribing online customers within minutes. Syndication end points receive simple instructions on how to retrieve content without requiring any client or server-side software to be implemented at the end point site.
Key features of the Active Data Syndicator product includes the ability to aggregate content from a variety of sources, administer multiple users and end points, manage syndicated content, as well as scheduling and packaging functions and tracking and authentication capabilities. Enterprises can set up users in groups, manage content, and track content assets through a browser-based interface. Content is organized in content groups and indexed by category and sub-category, and set up in the format of the end point site. Content can be aggregated through XML import or through the company’s proprietary content aggregation product, Active Data Publisher.
The system can be set up so that multiple subscribers in a particular group receives syndicated content, allowing enterprises to distribute content simultaneously on a company’s intranet, corporate Web site and partners’ extranets. The system includes authorization features that preclude the direct viewing of the content from unauthorized sites. Subscribers are automatically notified via email whenever new syndicated content is available, as well as when content is accepted or not. Active Data Syndicator provides reporting and tracking functions that gives enterprises an understanding of syndicated information flow.
The core of the Active Data Exchange system is the Active Data Protocol (ADP), which is a proprietary syndication method that optimizes content exchange with a large number of end points. Instead of simply copying content to each end point, ADP exchanges a line of HTML code that results in a single programmatic call to the data repository, retrieving only the most recent content to be displayed on the Subscriber’s Web site. This allows for more efficient data exchange as well as the ability to control distribution and use of syndicated content.