Re: Best Hardware/Database Combo

} } In article: <3lc9jt$2ri@news.xmission.com> dbaresrc@xmission.xmission.com } (DBA Resources) writes: } > } > M. Livenspargar (michaell@sonic.net) wrote: } > >The Hardware choices: HP-9000 and RS/6000 } > } > >The Database choices: Informix, Sybase, Oracle } > } > Not having extensive financial resources myself, I tend to look at what } the } > big "wins" are what combination of products these companies are using. } All } > three DB vendors will continue to win accounts but the momentum is } swinging } > to Informix } } Can you quote your sources that show that "the momentum is } swinging to Informix"? I haven't seen any projections } showing Informix's market share expanding rapidly. What's } your source? Not Informix, I hope :) } } Unless Informix can very quickly grow its market share and } revenues, it will, if anything, become more marginalised, as } it simply won't have the market presence or finances to compete. } } For Informix to grow its market share significantly, it needs } to have products that people are compelled to buy because of } *substantial* benefits that they deliver over competitor's } products, and which outweigh the fact that Informix is } financially weaker and less stable than all of its main } competitors. } } Although Informix has some good technology, it clearly has } nothing that *compels* people to buy its products. Short } term, it's doing pretty good (probably because Sybase has been } going through a rough patch), but long term it's going to have } real problems. } } Look what happened to Ingres in the 80s: technical leadership } over Oracle; declining market share compared to Oracle. } } The impact that Microsoft will have with SQL Server 95 in the } departmental database market will make it even harder for } Informix. } } -Tony } } Tony, Informix has an incredibly excellent financial position, $2B market capitalization, large cash reserves, zero long term debt and rapidly growing revenues. Our CEO frequently receives awards for his leadership (see below) from the financial and software sectors of the industry. Informix is the only RDBMS that has core parallel functionality, something that Oracle and Sybase are hoping to introduce late this year (two to three years after Informix). This has compelled a few large firms to write-off millions in Sybase and switch to Informix. With these things in mind, industry and financial analysts expect Informix to overtake Sybase in the #2 position this year. Sybase is having a tremendous amount of technology problems and Oracle is not focused on the RDBMS business (applications, video-on-demand, etc). That's not to suggest that Oracle won't continue to be the "900 pound gorilla" or that Sybase won't do a great job of wooing customers with promises of System11 (worked for System10) and MicroSoft will likely change the face of the market overall. Informix is financially sound, has excellent technology and is clearly focused on it's core competence in relational database and tools. -- Mark Sigler Client Services Engineer Informix Software, Inc. Fort Lauderdale, FL --