PRESS: INFORMIX-ONLINE DYNAMIC =?iso-8859-1?Q?SERVER=AE?= 7.2

INFORMIX-ONLINE DYNAMIC SERVER=AE 7.2 OFFERS UNPRECEDENTED PERFORMANCE AND SIGNIFICANT ENHANCEMENTS TO ENTERPRISE CUSTOMERS Industry-leading Dynamic Scalable Architecture=99 Delivers Mainframe-caliber Manageability and Scalability to Today=92s Mission-critical Applications MENLO PARK, Calif., (May 29, 1996) -- Informix Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:IFMX), the leading provider of innovative database technology, today announced INFORMIX=AE-OnLine Dynamic Server=99 7.2, based on Dynamic= Scalable Architecture=99 (DSA), for SMP and uniprocessor hardware configurations. = New features in this next-generation parallel database, such as large memory addressability and parallel load, deliver record-breaking performance and scalability for both OLTP and decision support environments, recently proven by VARs and in TPC-C results. Client/server application software developers such as The Baan Company, PeopleSoft, Inc. and SAP AG have announced support for Version 7.2. "The growing success of OnLine Dynamic Server is based on Informix=92s ability to deliver industry-leading database technology to meet the current and future needs of customers," said Jeff Hudson, vice president of business development and product marketing at Informix. "Version 7.2 is the latest example of Informix=92s commitment to aggressively deliver new features= while building on its core technology for high-end OLTP and data warehouse environments." "Informix=92s OnLine Dynamic Server has allowed RMT to integrate massive amounts of our clients' raw data into RADAR Risk Manager within time frames that were previously not possible," said Jefferson Braswell, president of Risk Management Technologies (RMT), an Informix VAR. "For example, with Informix 7.2 we were able to process over 15 million rows of customer-level financial transactions in less than 3 hours. This break-through performance means that daily analysis and management of a large bank's entire risk profile, including Value-at-Risk, Earnings-at-Risk and profitability, is now possible." RMT=92s RADAR System integrates sophisticated financial analysis with transaction data at the enterprise level for data warehousing and strategic decision support, leveraging multidimensional OLAP results. Record-breaking Results Recent benchmarks on Digital Equipment Corporation=92s 64-bit AlphaServer 8400 5/350 system demonstrate the unparalleled performance of OnLine Dynamic Server 7.2, substantiating Informix as the market=92s technology leader. In March 1996, Informix=92s Version 7.2 delivered 13,646 tpmC at an outstanding price/performance level of $277/tpmC, when running the Digital AlphaServer Model 8400 5/350. By contrast, Oracle achieved only 11,456 tmpC, on a more expensive hardware configuration. In a similarly configured system comparison against Oracle, Informix exceeded Oracle=92s version 7 transaction throughput by 19 percent. Informix also performed better than Sybase=92s System 11 benchmark on the AlphaServer 8400 5/300 by over 23= percent. =20 New Features Central to the record-breaking performance results of Version 7.2 is Informix=92s industry-leading parallel processing technology and mainframe-caliber scalability and manageability. OnLine Dynamic Server=92s DSA performs major database activities in parallel, intelligently optimizing and fully exploiting the processing power of SMP and uniprocessor hardware architectures. New features available in this version include: =B7 Continuous Data Replication (CDR) -- Informix=92s support for Continuous Data Replication (CDR) allows organizations to share information across geographically dispersed locations by providing real-time, peer-to-peer replication of data. For example, data that is entered in one server location is automatically replicated to an unlimited number of servers anywhere. Called "update anywhere," this enhancement underscores Informix= =92s commitment to develop its market-leading technology for increased performance and high-availability. =B7 Global Language Support (GLS) -- GLS enables Informix=92s customers worldwide to quickly receive multiple-language versions of Informix=92s database software to ensure consistent releases across the enterprise. Using OnLine Dynamic Server=92s GLS, applications can be rapidly customized to= local languages, while maintaining the same functionality. =B7 Large Memory Addressability (LMA)-- LMA provides 64-bit support, dramatically enhancing database performance to OLTP and data warehouse installations. LMA supports tens of gigabytes of physical memory and hundreds of gigabytes of dynamic memory, providing order-of-magnitude performance improvements as additional users are added to systems.=20 =B7 OnLine Backup and Recovery (On-Bar)--On-Bar assists customers with backing up and restoring OnLine Dynamic Server databases in parallel, while their systems are on-line. In addition, On-Bar is equipped with a storage management API that allows customers to utilize many sophisticated, certified third-party storage management vendor (SMV) subsystems in the market today. =20 =B7 Parallel Load -- With up to a 50-gigabyte-per-hour load rate, the parallel load utility can load and unload data with unprecedented speed through its ability to "read in" data from multiple sources and to convert and load the data in parallel. =B7 Year 2000 support -- With Year 2000 support, no application changes are required at the turn of the century to ensure that the data is correctly applied. Database administrators can set past, current, future or "closest date" parameters to tune the data for the application to the appropriate time frame. Leading VAR Support Client/server application software developers The Baan Company, PeopleSoft, Inc., and SAP AG have all announced their support on select hardware platforms for OnLine Dynamic Server 7.2. Baan began shipping an early version of its client/server application suite for Version 7.2 earlier this month, while SAP AG began shipping its R/3 3.0c application suite for this latest version in April. PeopleSoft plans to ship its client/server applications 5.1.2 for Version 7.2 in Q3 1996. Availability and Pricing OnLine Dynamic Server 7.2 is generally available on the following UNIX platforms: Data General, Digital Equipment Corp., Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, ICL, Intel SCO, Intel Solaris, NCR, NEC, Pyramid, SEQUENT, SGI, SNI, Sun Solaris, Tandem and Unisys. OnLine Dynamic Server is priced at $1,500 for a development license and $1,125 for a run-time version, with a five-user minimum. Current OnLine Dynamic Server 7.x customers can upgrade to Version 7.2 free of charge. Continuous Data Replication is priced separately and is available as a controlled-release feature. Version 7.2 for NT is scheduled to ship in Q3 1996, 60 to 90 days after initial UNIX availability. Informix=92s Dynamic Scalable Architecture Informix=92s industry-leading Dynamic Scalable Architecture is the= foundation of a comprehensive family of next-generation database server products: INFORMIX-OnLine Workgroup Server for workgroup environments, OnLine Dynamic Server for enterprise OLTP and decision support computing environments, and INFORMIX-On