IBM pushed its data management and integration strategies forward last week with automated records management software. It also said it will send its WebSphere Data Integration Suite, code-named Hawk, to beta testers next month.

The new IBM Federated Records Management solution, which combines IBM?s DB2 Records Manager and WebSphere Information Integrator Content Edition, is intended to simplify the task of centrally managing recordkeeping policies for all content distributed throughout an enterprise.

IBM acquired its Hawk technology when it purchased Ascential Software in March. Hawk is designed to be the foundation of a unified platform for information analysis, data transformation, and metadata management.

?Organizations are beginning to realize the value they can extract from all their dead data by better integrating and managing it,? said Dana Gardner, a senior analyst at Yankee Group.