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 --------------------------------- (09/15/97) Informix in the News VARBUSINESS "Can this man save Informix?" In this cover story, VARBUSINESS profiles Informix CEO and President Robert Finocchio, calling his start date at the company "the beginning of a new era at Informix." The article revisits Informix developments over the past several months in addition to outlining current challenges Finocchio faces in re-aligning Informix's position within the database market. Challenges for the CEO include training and hiring a new management team, overcoming financial discrepancies and convincing customers of the company's viability. The article also describes areas where Informix has an opportunity in the market, including incremental revenue growth with Windows NT and differentiated products. (9/15/97, cover, Ian Jacobs) VARBUSINESS "Bob Finocchio: On a mission to redefine Informix" In this Q&A with Informix CEO and President Robert Finocchio, VARBUSINESS takes a closer look at the company's new leader and his goals and priorities for products and the channel in the near term. Finocchio described his interest in re-defining the Informix channel by adjusting the direct and indirect sales mix to include a two-tier distribution model. Finocchio also said he would implement a better defined channel program for NT. Informix will continue selling to customers directly only in the areas that integrators do not sell. "The good news about the opportunity at Informix is that the things that are broken can be fixed," Finocchio said. "The product is good and it works. The product vision is good." (9/15/97, cover, Ian Jacobs) INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY "Informix takeover rumored" Last Friday, Informix's stock gained 1 5/16, or 15 percent, in heavy trading to $10.31 with speculation that it sold land purchased in Santa Clara, California for $60 million last year to Intel Corp. Another reason for the stock rise -- Informix is the target of a company takeover. (9/15/97, pg. A2, staff writer) Additional coverage: REUTERS "Informix shares active" (9/12/97, www.reuters.com, staff writer) COMPUTERGRAM INTERNATIONAL "Informix shares rise on land sale report" (9/15/97, www.computerwire.com, staff writer) DATAMATION "A database with a head for business" This review of object-relational databases analyzes the ability of the new-generation databases to perform real-world database functions such as on-line transaction processing and data warehousing, in addition to supporting object technology. The author is not convinced, however, that the offerings from Informix, IBM, Oracle and other ORDB vendors are ready for prime-time use nor that demand exists for rich data in the corporate market. "It's a battle of applications," said Dan Kusnetsky, an analyst with International Data Corp. "It is a battle for the future." In a side-bar article, Informix DataBlade modules and Oracle cartridges are compared and contrasted. Informix's approach is touted by several of its partners, including ECOlogic and MapInfo, for the database's advantages in performance. (9/97, pg. 62, Anne Knowles) INFORMATIONWEEK "Stonebreaker 'cooking'" Informix CTO Michael Stonebreaker said he is currently pursuing a side project that, according to sources, is the development of a browser-like data visualization tool. The tool, which at one time was an Informix-owned project, allows users to navigate through object-relational databases such as INFORMIX-Universal Server. (9/15/97, pg. 178, John Foley) COMPUTERWORLD "Beitler sees the data side of Sears" In this feature story on Informix customer Sears, Roebuck and Co., Steve Beitler, assistant corporate controller for Sears, describes the company's plan to use Informix for development of a new Sears system called Decision 2000. Sears, which used its previous system -- Enterprise Planning and Information Center (EPIC) -- for financial budgeting, store forecasting and strategic planning, will implement Decision 2000 for extended analysis and reporting capabilities. "We will continue to use Informix," said Beitler. "We think (Informix's viability) will be OK and that they have one of the best technologies on the market." (9/15/97, pg. 79, Leslie Goff) DERIVATIVES STRATEGY "Informix's Universal Server" This vendor profile on Informix examines INFORMIX-Universal Server (IUS), the product's brief history, its core structure and principal features. Also included in the profile are reviews from Informix employees, additional independent reviewers and an Informix customer. The main feature that differentiates the Universal Server is its extensibility. Other important IUS features to note include processing and development efficiencies, and architectural and development flexibility. (5/97, pg. 40, Bryan Johnson) GOVERNMENT COMPUTER NEWS "RDBMS update" This buyer's guide on relational database management systems examines the considerations a database administrator must make to ensure quality, including data quantity, ease of maintenance, Internet access, monitoring tools, projected growth and user needs. Informix is among several other vendors described as a proven technology for large Unix or Windows NT projects. INFORMIX-OnLine Dynamic Server is mentioned to exemplify parallel processing. The article concludes that management costs should be looked at in conjunction with a rich feature list when making a final buying decision. (9/1/97, pg. 63, John McCormick) RIS NEWS "Installations" Informix was chosen by six retailers (Circuit City; Gap, Inc.; Kinko's; Longs Drug Stores; Neiman Marcus; Service Merchandise), and six grocers (Certified Grocers of California, H.E. Butt, Price Chopper, Randalls, Wegmans Food Markets and Whole Foods Market) to support new database applications. (6-7/97, pg. 38, staff writer) THE RED HERRING "Public company profiles" In THE RED HERRING profiles for this month, a cross section of leading public companies developing intranet software are described. Informix is included in the listing with the company's financial position, market, products and overall strategy. Other companies mentioned include Computer Associates, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle and Sybase. (10/97, pg. 100, Anna Semansky) FORTUNE "Shipping bricks and other tricks" This news brief uncovers the discrepancies found in Silicon Valley companies' accounting procedures, and the ways companies allegedly confuse Wall Street by "stuffing the channel." Often, companies will estimate returns based on the delivery of their product to resellers, according to Herb Greenburg, a SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE business columnist. Some companies, such as Informix, have booked revenue based on sales to distributors -- resulting in recording errors. The article suggests