IBM has released a slew of new products intended to underscore its commitment to 'information management'.

Big Blue released version 8.4 of its Enterprise Content Management product at the Information on Demand 2007 conference in Las Vegas this week, and previewed IBM Data Studio and Master Data Management Server.

Data Studio is a free, Eclipse-based tool that manages data lifecycles. Available for download by the end of this month, the software promises improved development times by automating the design, development and deployment of information.

Master Data Management Server essentially acts as a data integration tool, allowing customers to manage all data from a single point, regardless of the database in which the information is stored or the department that owns the information.

The server is currently in beta and is scheduled for general availability by the first quarter of next year.

"The world is moving into an era of extreme transaction processing, extreme information management," said Steve Mills, IBM's senior vice president in charge of software.

"The ability to handle large amounts of volume is absolutely critical to the business models that we are trying to get to."

Mills touted the server as an essential component for a service oriented architecture (SOA).

SOAs offer a platform for componentised applications, allowing end users or application architects to piece together applications by combining functionalities.

As SOAs eliminate barriers between departments, IBM's Master Data Management Server provides access to information from all over an organisation.