PRESS: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR STANDARDIZES ON INFORMIX

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR STANDARDIZES ON INFORMIX Job Corps and Employment Standards Administration (ESA) First DOL Divisions to Modernize With INFORMIX-OnLine Dynamic Server and INFORMIX-NewEra (Vienna, VA, March 25, 1996) -- The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently awarded two contracts to Informix Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: IFMX), the industry leader in parallel processing database technology, to automate database functions in two key DOL divisions, Job Corps and Employment Standards Administration (ESA). Job Corps, which assists poor and disadvantaged youth, will use Informix to build an automated tracking system for a variety of student information and activity data. ESA will use an Informix database system to automate financial payments for on-the-job injury claims made by civilian federal government employees and postal workers nationwide. "DOL is one of the more progressive government agencies to apply advanced database technology. Informix continues to succeed in the federal marketplace because our database software and tools clearly meet the specific needs of these leading-edge customers," said W. Edward Hammersla III, executive director for Informix Federal. "DOL's choice of Informix endorses our government market strategy and we are confident other government IT managers will see DOL's success and consider Informix as their preferred choice," Hammersla added. Informix Support for DOL Job Corps The first contract, which serves DOL's Job Corps division, includes the following products: 4,000 user site license -- INFORMIX(R)-OnLine Dynamic Server(TM), high performance secure relational database management (RDBMS) technology; 6,000 user site license -- INFORMIX(R)-NewEra(TM) family of application development and end-user access tools Job Corps' mission is to provide education and training for disadvantaged youth to increase their skill levels and assist them in entering the job market. Informix is the backbone for a system that tracks a variety of student information including medical histories, center assignments, recreational activities, events scheduling, travel coordination, job market trend analysis, career placement information, and job placement results. Informix also serves as the database server for all on-line testing and result tracking for 41,000 students at 110 different locations. "We needed an industrial-strength database at each of our Job Corps sites that could also be easily linked to our primary data repository here at the Job Corps Data Center in Texas. The Job Corps system was built from the ground up using Informix technologies, on-site consulting, and maintenance services," said a Job Corps Data Center spokesman. Job Corps' computer-based education program is being enhanced. With this in mind, support for more non-traditional data such as real-time video and audio is crucial. Informix, with its plan to incorporate Illustra DataBlade(R) technology, will support non-traditional data at the database server level. This was a key factor in our choice of a server platform," he added. Informix Provides Enterprise-wide Site License For ESA Under a second contract, Informix will provide ESA with an enterprise-wide site license (approximately 4,000 users) for both OnLine Dynamic Server and NewEra. ESA selected Informix after a year long evaluation of several application development tools including Sybase's PowerBuilder. According to DOL officials, a critical factor in their decision to implement Informix was NewEra's ability to create business-critical, enterprisewide client/server applications. Informix and ESA Share a History The Department of Labor ESA has been using Informix products for eight years. Since it first began legacy migration to UNIX-based open systems, ESA has used the Informix RDBMS paired with multiple processor hardware to improve information delivery systems. The system has grown with the agency over the last eight years. The DOL workers compensation program began with a primary database containing 1,000,000 records and a planned maximum of 4 gigabytes of storage for the entire national system. Gradually, it moved to fourteen systems with thirty gigabytes of storage. "Informix gives DOL engineers the power and flexibility to create highly scalable, transaction-intensive applications that take full advantage of the potential of client/server environments -- while at the same time, support core business functions today and in the future," said David Nieters, sales manager for Informix. Today, ESA is moving to a client/server application development environment, upgrading hardware, adding Windows clients, and using more PC-based tools. About Informix Informix Software, Inc. is the leading supplier of high performance, parallel processing database technology for open systems. Informix products also include application development tools for creating client/server production applications, decision support system, ad-hoc query interfaces, and connectivity software that allows information to be shared transparently from PCs to mainframes within the corporate computing environment. Informix's leadership position within the federal market is a direct reflection of our dedication to providing powerful technology required to help build a government that works better and costs less, as well as strict adherence to industry and federal government standards. Informix's federal headquarters are located in Vienna, Virginia; corporate headquarters are based in Menlo Park, California. - ### - INFORMIX, Dynamic Scalable Architecture, and NewEra are trademarks of Informix Software, Inc. Illustra is a trademark and DataBlade is a registered trademark of Illustra Information Technologies, Inc. All other company or product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.