Re: NEWERA THE END? --- does anyone care?

Nils Myklebust wrote: > > This is enough of a bombshell that IIUG should know and possibly take > it up at their meetings with Informix. I have copied this post to > Carlton Doe. (Look at the end for what was said.) > > Even if it where true that NewEra isn't the highest priority product > at Informix (which it probably isn't) this isn't they way to do > marketing. > > I don't use NewEra and have no current plans to do so (sorry Billy), > but still this kind of statements both hurt me and can do major damage > to Informix. They have significant customers using NewEra in different > parts of the world. If this came to their attention Informix would > have some serious damage control work to do. Such things will > influence me as well. I will look dumb using and supporting Informix > even in quite different customers eys. > > What this Jeff Hudson doesn't understand is that just a few deals > involving NewEra could earn Informix more than enough long term to > cover the development and maintenance costs of the product. One > shouldn't forget that users are essentially locked in to Informix by > using their tools for development. Many customer still see this as a > very positive thing. Many would hardly buy a database without beeing > able to get tools from the same supplier. This is not stupid, much > less brain dead. > > We are going for Java. To Jeff Hudson's possible supprise though, we > actually expect to become database independent at the same time. May > be he realy want's that? > > We might decide to go for Informix Universal Server in case we can get > it at a reasonable price on reasonable platforms (the big three Unix > vendors are out of the question for price reasons alone, and NT isn't > so great - hint hint - Linux and possibly SCO Unix would be a good > idea). This might lock us in with Informix again, at least for some > time. We don't realy mind that. > > I do think it important for Informix to open up both ways. They should > cater equally well to customers who want to be database independent, > as to those who don't mind a lock in with Informix if they can get a > better product that way. Both are equally valid standpoints in > different situations. > > A significant problem for Jeff Hudson and Informix is that there > aren't realy that many development tools out there that can be used > for major database developments. > He mentions Visual Basic. Well it's nice for small client only > applications. When it comes to major applications that also need > server side programming it's not a viable solution unless you decide > up front that Windows NT shall for ever be your only server option. > He mentions Java. I happen to believe that Java is and will be a tool > for major developments. There are now several large to very large > systems beeing developed in Java, and it all looks good. There is > however still troubled water ahead, and it will still be some time > before it's tested enough for most purposes a database development > tool is needed. > He mentions no other. The reason is simply there are no other major > tools for the great public. Yes there are Delphi, but essentially with > the same limitations as Visual Basic (although it's clearly a better > language). PowerBuilder have the same problems. Then there is Forte. > To expensive, coming from a small company that feels the competition > from Java. Then there are a pletora of tools from companies all over > the world. All are relatively small however, generally very expensive, > and not an option for many. NewEra was actually allways cheaper than > most of these, and now with better functionality than most. > > Last there is C or C++. In the database development arena these are a > loosing proposition. If you develop an OS, a database engine or even a > word processor or similar tools there is hardly any way arround C. It > simply takes too long to create finished database type applications > with these alone. Many excelent database programmers whould hardly be > able to start at all. > > Last, but not least, there are the tools from that other database > vendor. They may not be so great, but many customers want something > like that and the lock in is perfect more or less for ever. > > With other words, the main competition is from VB/Delphi/Powerbuilder > at the low end, who all lack the all important capability of handling > large amounts of data fast. That problem can hardly be solved on Unix > servers at least. At the high end is Forte and a few other tools that > are generally far to expensive for many customers. The only other > thing I can see around is actually Java if you don't want the other > vendors locked in tools. > > Doesn't Informix understand that now, with NewEra more or less grown > up they can probably be maintained it, and even enhanced it with new > versions, with a relatively small team of developers. In this > situation the time might be right to actually push it a little. > > If I where Informix I would have started pushing it by setting the > price to say US$ 495 with no runtime price at all. Upgrades at perhaps > 50 to 75% of that. I wouldn't expect to earn all that much on this > sales alone. Do think however what would happen when a few thousand, > or some 10th of thousands developers started churning out > applications. May be Informix would see some more engine sales? It > shouldn't even be all that hard to record it in their sales tracking > system so they could later look at the economic results of this. > > Also as little as 10000 NewEra licenses sold a year would yeald about > US$ 5 mill at this price. Possibly enough to support a few developers > all by itself. > > Even Tim's idea of making it downloadable from the web may be good. > They should probably still charge for commercial use licenses, but > people could at least easily test it. > > No I am totally at a loss to understand what is going on with NewEra. > > Mike Ripley <mike.ripley@excelsys.co.uk> wrote: > > :Marco Greco said :- > :"New Era a scaling down casualty? If I were a New Era user (which I'm > :not, luckily) I would be downright outraged, like I was back when it was > :4gl turn. > :Breach of contract that is, no less." > : > :I am a NEWERA user and I am beginning to wonder if I have been through a > :time warp. > :Did Mr Jeff Hudson, (Informix vice president of corporate development) > :actually say "You have to be brain dead to think that a database company > :also needs its own proper tools for the database"? > : > :This appears to be an absolute bomb shell! > : > :Judging by the negligible reaction I have seen on the net, I now realise > :that we were after all the only NEWERA user. > : > :P.S. What tools do you recommend? Do we go with Java or Visual Basic as > :recommended by Mr Hudson? But then again how sound is his judgement? > : > :-- > :Mike Ripley > > Based on this post: > Tim <tim.simpson@excelsys.co.uk> wrote: > > :Hi > : > :October 97 issue of Computing has the following quote from Jeff Hudson:- > : > :"Among the casualties of the scaling down, as well as people, will be > :the object-orientated development tool, NewEra."