BlueJayDB Wants To Make It Easier For Companies To Integrate Databases
MONCTON – BlueJayDB, out of Université de Moncton, is setting out to tackle a huge challenge for companies: data integration.
It offers a database management system that “connects multiple databases to simplify data integration,” said co-founder Mathieu Brideau, who is a master’s student in computer science at the university. That includes finance, HR, engineering and other databases.
“Data integration is very complex and costly for businesses. What we did is package some of that complexity, we packaged it into a software that helps companies integrate their data faster and cheaper,” he said.
Brideau says the software can help companies that are merging or upgrading their technology, for instance.
“If you’re a business that acquired another company, the two systems may be running on different platforms that don’t talk to each other. Our system would easily quickly connect the two and make it look like one. So you don’t have to wait for a year-long data integration project to get access to all your data,” he said.
“Another example is if a company recently migrated to a new platform for a technology upgrade, or for whatever reason. You’d end up with two systems, a legacy system and the new system, and the two don’t talk to each other. So [BlueJayDB] would connect to both of them and make it look like they were one unique system.”
Brideau founded the project with professor Dr. Eric Hervet, and with the help of funding from the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, hired students Mohamed Camara and Samuel Verrier to support their work.
The idea came up for Brideau back in 2003, after he had seen a major data integration effort fail.
He had worked with a large telecom company that was trying to integrate dozens of separate billing systems into one. But after many years and much money invested, the company only ended up with one more system that didn’t connect with the others.
“The problem is very complex, very costly. And there are many examples where these problems happen,” he said.
According to Gartner, more than 60 percent of Big Data projects fail, and one of the key reasons is the poor integration of data from multiple, separate sources.
But until more recently, Brideau didn’t have the resources to work on his idea. BlueJayDB’s technology was developed through research undertaken at the university. It has also been funded by NBIF’s Lab-To-Market Fund, which is aimed at researchers in New Brunswick universities and institutes that are developing new or improved technologies for specific problems that can then be commercialized.
Brideau is also being mentored by the Prelam Enterprises co-founder Luc Jalbert, who is the Entrepreneur-in-Residents at CARDE, the university’s entrepreneurship centre. He said that’s been a “very good help” when it comes time to turn a research idea into a business.
“Being at the university gave us access to those resources,” he said. “There are talented people, some funding from the NBIF, and supported from the CARDE. Having access to those resources was key to bringing the project forward.”
Last month, BlueJayDB won a $25,000 investment from NBIF through the virtual startup competition Percée, a version of NBIF’s biennial Breakthru competition.
Percée was a French-language contest held in partnership with CARDE, which also offered mentorship to finalists. BlueJayDB beat out two other finalists.
CARDE’s head Pauline Roy said that was the first time the centre teamed up for a startup competition with NBIF.
“I’m very happy with the collaboration,” said Roy. “I think it was a good approach…because there’s a lot of potential in terms of startups in the Francophone community, and I think it’s good if we get a closer collaboration and get to know each other better as well.”
As for the winner BlueJayDB, with a prototype already in an advanced stage of development, the money will be used to commercialize the product, targeting corporate users.
“So far, the project has been in the lab at the university. This is a validation that there is commercial potential for the product,” said Brideau. “The money will be used to create a spinoff company, and help bring the product out of the lab and into the marketplace.”
Inda Intiar is a reporter for Huddle. Send her story suggestions: [email protected]