MDA Software Survey
MIMSY XG
Willoughby Associates, Limited
Last updated: 7.2006
Brief Description | MIMSY XG marks a dramatic new direction in the use of computers to document museum collections. Highly scalable, infinitely customisable, and easy to manage, Willoughby Associates' flagship museum automation system, MIMSY XG, is a complete solution for managing broad ranging collections and delivering the content that will capture the imagination of its visitors. MIMSY XG is based on an enterprise-wide approach designed to serve the varied information and multimedia needs of all potential users including: curators, educators, administrators, conservators, collections managers, students, researchers, and the general public. Rather than only managing the objects in your collection, MIMSY XG also helps you manage the enriched data - historic events, important subjects, related places, and crucial people - that give your collection depth and scope. To accomplish this, we have chosen Oracle, the leading relational database management system in the world, as the platform for MIMSY XG. As a result, MIMSY XG can accommodate enormous amounts of information, vast networks, and virtually any operating system. |
Minimum Hardware | All servers require:
Server for Windows 2000 or 2003 For Oracle 9i:
For Oracle 10g:
Server for Linux or Unix For Oracle 9i:
For Oracle 10g:
Clients Using Terminal Services Oracle supports installing, configuring, and running Oracle Database through Terminal Services, on Windows 2000, Windows 2003, and Windows XP. Platform-specific support information is as follows:
Client (PCs running Windows 2000, Windows XP Professional, Linux, Macintosh running OS X Jaguar version or later)
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Operating Systems and Networks | MIMSY XG incorporates the Oracle (10g or 9i) database management system, the most popular relational database management system in the world. Oracle, and therefore MIMSY XG, is available on multiple operating system platforms including Windows 2000, Server 2003, Windows XP Professional, LINUX, and several varieties of UNIX. Please note that Oracle phased out support for Windows NT Server and de-supported the platform on January 1, 2005. Microsoft has also officially withdrawn support for both Windows NT client and server operating systems as of October 1, 2001. In addition, Oracle no longer supports database software on the Novell network system. If you plan to use an operating system not listed in this specification, please contact our offices to confirm compatibility. |
Images | Media metadata can be thoroughly documented in MIMSY XG's Media Authority. Data about images, sound and video files, documents, and other derivative file types can be maintained. An unlimited number of digital media files can be linked to a record. Media is stored on a server and links to media can be established and maintained. Users can integrate external media metadata from scanners and digital cameras into the database. Users can link virtually any file type to a MIMSY XG record. Among the file types are:
MIMSY XG also offers and integrated Image Browser that can be accessed from within or outside the system and allows users to view and work with their collection in an image-based environment. Users can create groups of images, save them in the order that they appear on the screen for later use, and email media to others from this module. |
Public Access | Möbius for MIMSY allows users to instantly publish collections information to an intranet, a web site, browser-based kiosks, or satellite institutions. Unlike other solutions for online museum publishing, Möbius is built specifically to work with the powerful capabilities of the MIMSY XG collections management system. Users can add Authority and select Activity data to their web presence, create and view groups of items that they have made, and organise how the data will be presented to the visitor. |
CD Publication | MIMSY XG can be authored to a CD. |
Internet | See public access above. |
Database Architecture | MIMSY XG is based on Oracle 9i or 10g, the leading relational database management system in the world. MIMSY XG provides an industrial-strength platform on which any museum may build an enterprise-wide information network. And MIMSY XG is a native Oracle application, so its performance exceeds that of products that use unoptimised ODBC links to an Oracle back end. |
Cost - Single User | £2,500 (not including database licenses) |
Cost - 5 Users | £12,500 (not including database licenses) |
Additional Pricing Notes | Site License for over 20 users. Mobile Museum (hand-held Audit and Location Update Utility): £1,500 for the first license, £500 for each additional license. Palm unit not included. Oracle 9i licenses (either named user or processor licenses) may be purchased either from Willoughby or directly from Oracle. |
Training | The basic training rate is £500 per day (£1500 for three days) plus a £150 travel fee and a £150 per diem. For the standard three days of training, the user would be charged £2100. Willoughby's training is very flexible, and we can work with the institution project coordinators to tailor a training plan that will enable the institutions to make the most of the project. It should also be noted that Willoughby trainers will train all staff on the third-party reporting tool as a part of our standard training package. Many other vendors skip this part, thereby crippling users ability to output information from the system. |
Support | Our support package includes the following:
Software support fees are 20% of the then-current list price of the level of software you have licensed. List prices are set in January of each year and may increase or decrease from those in effect at the time of your original purchase. Your annual support fees, therefore, may increase or decrease from year to year. |
Museum Users and Sites in the UK | 31 installations. |
Museum Users and Sites Worldwide | 103 installations. |
Largest Museum Site - No of Users and No of Records | Los Angeles County Museum of Art: over 100 users. University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada: over 7 million records. |
Special Features | One of the most salient features of MIMSY XG is the flexibility it offers registrars, archivists, and curators whose task it is to catalogue a wide variety of collections. MIMSY XG allows users to easily add the specialised database fields required for a far-reaching collection:
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Future Developments | New product. On-site demonstrations of the program are currently available upon request and with 21 days notice. |
Technical Details
Feature | |
Audit trails | As standard. |
Passwords | As standard. |
Picklist | As standard. |
Thesaurus for Data Entry | As standard. |
Thesaurus for Retrieval | As standard. |
Screen Designer | As standard. |
Report Writer | As standard. |
Modifiable Data Structure | As standard (user defined fields). |
Maximum Characters per Field | Maximum characters are variable for each field. Memo field is unlimited. |
Maximum Records per File | MIMSY XG is based on Oracle 9i or 10g and has no realistic limit. |
Digital Image Formats | Users can link virtually any file type to a MIMSY XG record. Among the file types are:
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Data Import Facilities | Oracle can import fixed and variable length ASCII files. |
Data Export Facilities | Oracle and the report generator can export fixed and variable length ASCII files. Data can be exported from any module of MIMSY XG into programs such as Microsoft Excel or Access using a defined keystroke sequence. |
For More Information Contact
Company Name | Willoughby Associates, Limited |
Contact Name | Mike Pfriem |
Contact Job Title | Business Development Associate |
Contact Phone Number | (0) 0 800 9250 9250 |
Contact E-mail | |
Address | 266 Linden Street |
Company Website |
Software Developer
Company Name | Willoughby Associates, Limited |
