PRESS: Informix in the News
List of Informix related articles. Format: PUBLICATION "Article Name" Summary of Article [Date, Location in Publication, Author] Informix in the News --------------------------------- (08/19/97) DATABASE PROGRAMMING AND DESIGN "Dispatch from the front" This article reviews Informix's most recent corporate news and product announcements from over the past several months. Informix's NT strategy is discussed including the future release of INFORMIX-OnLine Extended Parallel Server on NT. Additionally mentioned is Informix's upgrade to the MetaCube ROLAP product suite and the opening of the New York Information Superstore for the financial community. (9/97, pg. 11, staff writer) DATABASE PROGRAMMING AND DESIGN "Making an Informix decision" This feature article discusses issues customers face in choosing to standardize their data warehouse on either INFORMIX-OnLine Dynamic Server(ODS)and INFORMIX-OnLine Extended Parallel Server (XPS). In his final assessment, the author -- also an Informix technology instructor -- suggests that no one single factor be used as evidence in choosing ODS or XPS. The overall assumption is that large, scalable warehouses should be built on XPS; while smaller warehouses, OLTP and operational systems should be used with ODS. (8/97, pg. 67, Venkatesh Kandaswamy) DATABASE PROGRAMMING AND DESIGN "Giants walk the earth" In the third annual DATABASE PROGRAMMING AND DESIGN survey on Very Large Database (VLDB), Informix ranked No. 1 in the VLDB category of largest OLTP system with the most concurrent users running under Unix. Informix won the category for its support of Shin Han Bank of Seoul, South Korea. In the overall category, rating the world's largest database, Informix ranked sixth for Shin Han Bank's database size running on all environments. The metrics used to measure VLDBs included number of concurrent users, number of rows/records/objects and volume of data. (8/97, pg. S3, Richard Winter) PC WEEK ONLINE "Informix slapped with a lawsuit again" Last Wednesday, Informix was presented with a class-action suit filed on behalf of shareholders that purchased stock between July of 1996 and August 7 of this year. The suit alleges that Informix executives and the company's auditor, Ernst & Young LLP, artificially inflated the price of Informix stock. The suit also charges Informix with improperly recognizing revenue on licensing agreements and materially misstating its financial results. To address these and other issues, Robert Finocchio, Informix CEO and president, said his near-team financial priorities include "a clear, differentiated strategy and position in the marketplace." (8/14/97, www.pcweek.com, Maria Seminerio) Additional coverage: COMPUTERWORLD "Shareholders file suit against Informix" (8/15/97, www.computerworld.com, Stewart Deck) C/NET "Informix hits rock bottom" This news analysis on Informix explores the company's movement over the past few months -- including the reorganization of its management team and the recent financial announcements disclosed to shareholders. On the positive side, analysts agree that Informix has leading-edge technology and a "top-notch" customer list. Areas for improvement include both a stronger management team and thorough execution of business strategy, according to Randal Chin, an analyst with Alex.Brown. Most financial analysts agree on Informix's choice for CEO and president, Robert Finocchio. "Finocchio comes from the outside of the software industry," said James Pickrel, an analyst with Hambrecht and Quist. "Right now for Informix that could be a good thing, since he could provide a fresh perspective." (8/13/97, www.news.com, Mike Ricciuti) DATABASED WEB ADVISOR "Object-relational databases: The key players" This feature article takes a look at the various object-relational databases, their technology and the companies that create them. INFORMIX-Universal Server is touted as having the strengths of both a relational database and an object database, integrated together. With Informix's DataBlade modules, Informix has moved beyond the extended data types to also include companies' business objects, according to the author. In conclusion, it is suggested that each database vendor offers a different solution for different needs and that object-relational database vendors are moving in areas that distinguish them from their competitors. Other companies mentioned in the article include IBM, Oracle and Sybase. (8/97, pg. 28, Richard Campbell) THE WALL STREET JOURNAL "Informix Corp. says $40 million has been raised" Last Wednesday, Informix announced it has raised a $40 million equity investment from New York private placement firm, Fletcher International Limited. The proceeds will be used for operations as management continues to "get Informix back on track toward profitability," according to Robert Finocchio, Informix CEO and president. In the future, Fletcher will also have the opportunity to buy an additional 140,000 shares, or $35 million, in preferred Informix stock. (8/14/97, pg. B6, Bill Richards) Additional coverage: COMPUTERWORLD "Briefs: Informix raises cash" (8/18/97, pg. 30, staff writer) C/NET "Informix gets cash infusion" (8/13/97, www.news.com, staff writer) DOW JONES NEWS SERVICE "Informix -- pfd stk 2: Issues wt for up to added $35 million in stk" (8/13/97, www.dowjones.com, staff writer) INFORMATIONWEEK ONLINE "Informix gets $40 million investment from New York investor" (8/13/97, www.informationweek.com, Jeff Sweat) INFOWORLD ONLINE "Informix gets $40 million investment" (8/13/97, www.infoworld.com, staff writer) PC WEEK ONLINE "Informix snags $40M investment" (8/13/97, www.pcweek.com, Tom Schmidt) REUTERS "Informix gets $40 min equity investment" (8/13/97, www.reuters.com, staff writer) SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE "Informix gets needed cash" (8/14/97, pg. D2, Tom Abate) SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS "Informix posts a hefty second-quarter loss" (8/14/97, pg. 1C, staff writer)