DataFuse is a data transformation, cleansing, and sanitization utility targeted to data managers and administrators. It is available for Windows 2000/XP; and, according to the vendor's Web site, "...will be offered in UNIX in the near future."

Among other uses, DataFuse provides features in the area of data cleansing (removing extraneous words and phrases), record matching, data transformation, and name/address standardization. Specific capabilities noted by the vendor include scheduled operations; support for unlimited match keys and rules; identify businesses vs individuals; append geocodes, demographics, and country codes for international addresses; define custom parameters to match and link data across any field; generate custom and CASS certification reports; and phonetic entry translation. Additionally, DataFuse produces a reason code to alert you as to why it matched a particular set of records.

New features in the latest release of DataFuse include:

- Integration with the vendor's ValiData product. ValiData allows you to profile data; identify problem data, apply a transformation, and test the results before moving it to the target location

- A rebuilt interface featuring drag and drop operations

- GUI-based script generator

- New file layout/metadata manager

- Support for multiple DataFuse instances per server (each with its own scheduling features)

DataFuse is available now; the base price is based on database size and ranges from $25,000 to $300,000. Contact DataMentors for further information.