As the financial crisis gripping the U.S. and the global economy continues, the ability to make decisions based on analyses of vast amounts of rapidly changing data is more critical than ever, particularly for finance and treasury departments.

To this end, Dublin, Calif.-based Sybase Inc. is set to release in March a new version of its analytics server Sybase IQ 15 that will deliver faster, more accurate analyses and reporting, better enabling companies to anticipate market risks and opportunities.

IQ 15′s major advance is that it sets the data up in a grid-deployable way that allows information from anywhere in the company to all be loaded simultaneously. "This means that instead of loading data sequentially and ending up with data that is several hours old, treasurers can work with data that is only 10 minutes old," says product manager Joydeep Daf. Security enhancements include encryption and frequent password resets, he adds.Data as it ages can also be kept accessible in the system. "You don't lose data as it moves from one tier to another," he says.