Re: Note to Kate...

On Feb 4, 4:12 pm, "Neil Truby" <neil.tr...@ardenta.com> wrote: > "Wikking" <Wik.Ki...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message > > news:gmcalj$5mu$1@news.motzarella.org... > > > The fact is that IBM is spending more on the development of Informix > > now than when Informix was still Informix. > > The question I ask myself but truly cannot answer is: "Why?" > *Why* are they spending all this money on R&D without seriously marketing > the product? Good question, Neil. I can assure you that you are not the only one that asks themselves the same question over and over :-) Possible answers are: a) IBM isn't capable of doing a product focused marketing/advertising that clearly shows the benefits of the product b) IBM has no interest in growing Informix outside of the existing customer base c) IBM marketing is too busy making this world a "Smarter Planet" :-) When I look at the link posted by Captain Pedantic, http://www.gilchristner.com/ibm06.htm, a) is my favorite :-) But seriously what I believe: IBM had no grasp for the market when they decided to favor DB2 and announced their plans to merge IDS into DB2. No offense to DB2 here, just my view of the things. IBM lost Informix customers to the competition and that hurts, it hurts even more if you are not able to compensate the loss. Customers were not really amused about IBM's decision. So IBM also lost credit at those Ex-Informix customers and lost the ability to cross sell other products. On the other side IBM saw a deep loyalty of a great part of the Informix customers. So somewhere in 2005/2006 they decided to stop the crumble of the Informix customer base and invested significantly into IDS from a technology point of view (IDS 11/11.5) and those loyal customers were happy about that. However once again IBM didn't have a good grasp of the market and underestimated the sustainable success of IDS over 12 consecutive quarters It They have been overran by this success. So now we are at a point were IBM notices that it can make money with IDS and needs IDS beside DB2 to gain ground in the database market. But still they have no grasp in terms of what is needed to market the product in a clever way and multiply the growth numbers. So we see no serious marketing not to mention advertising of the product. Instead we see a "Smarter Planet" campaign on "golf course" niveau to address the attention of top level management. This may work in some situations but I believe that a more product focused marketing strategy would be more successful. The great part of us makes a portion or bulk of their money with Informix, be it as a an Informix application developer or DBA employed at a customer site, as an Informix ISV developing software for IDS, as an Informix partner selling IDS or doing support/ consultancy. And we would all benefit from a more product focused marketing/advertising that creates more IDS product awareness. This would make IDS more attractive to third-party solution providers as well as new customers thus resulting in more job offerings, more awareness for our software products based on IDS, more consulting opportunities, more cross-sell options. An agile ecosystem from which IBM would benefit as well, probably the most :-) And we should demand that from IBM. Informix is not for free, it costs real money and the Informix customers pay that money to IBM, Informix ISV's take care that customers find solutions based on IDS, Informix partners supply support and consultancy for it. We all deliver our part to the success of IDS and now it is on IBM to ensure that this ecosystem will remain as active and agile, not only thru the delivery of superior technology, but thru the creation of a real IDS product awareness with a clever, product-focused marketing strategy as well as thru the advertising of IDS. Informix is a real business and not "charity". The IIUG conference will be a good place to demand more serious IDS marketing/advertising activities from upper IBM management.