Re: DB2 and Oracle -- where's Informix?

Fernando, no offense, but I think it is lame IBM excuse to denote that the press is incompetent and doesn't understand IBM's database strategy messaging. In fact they understand it very well. The point is: IBM has two different stories of the truth. One that they tell the faithul Informix customers, ISV's and business partners and one that they tell the rest of the world. The intermediate results of the 'IDS/DB2 marketing poll' (http://informix-zone.com/node/865) show a clear result and commit the fact that Mike and I are not the only ones that believe that IDS is still treated like 'Cinderella' in terms of marketing/publicity by IBM. IBM earns good money with IDS but isn't willing to reinvest a single dollar to create product awareness in the market. As I already said in the past I don't think that this is a fair strategy with respect to the many faithful Informix customers, ISV's, distributors and partners that invest a lot of work to push their business with Informix forward. In fact they get nothing back from IBM. I relate the term "nothing back" not to the IDS technology which is still outstanding and improved by IBM. But technology is only the foundation to build a successful business. It is the responsibility of the vendor to create product awareness in the market. Apart from two or three press releases a year and a road show/ bootcamp that is targeted to a technical audience that already knows the benefits of IDS, nothing substantial comes from IBM (the start of the IDS academic initiative has been pushed by the community, not IBM). We all see the money that is spent by IBM for the advertising of the "Smarter Planet" campaign: This advertising crap doesn't help any Informix partner to make a single deal !! As an Informix business partner I've to ask myself: Is a vendor that is not willing to spend a single dollar to promote it's own product and establish it in the market the right one to partner with now and in the future ? Is a vendor who claims to have a dual (or multiple) database strategy but almost always treats the product that is the core of my business as 'Cinderella' the right one to partner with now and in the future ? Is a vendor that is constantly paying lip services but doesn't really begin and and push things forward in terms of market visibility for the product that is the core of my business the right one to partner with now and in the future ? You can be assured that I'm not the only Informix business partner that has those minds and doubts regarding IBM's Informix "strategy". I don't want to initiate an endless discussion here on cdi as I believe that this doesn't really help . But I hope that somebody from IBM upper management reads this, thinks about it and (hopefully) comes to the conclusion that it's time to change the way IBM acts with respect to Informix and the many faithful customers and partners before it is too late. On 14 Okt., 19:36, Fernando Nunes <domusonl...@gmail.com> wrote: > I believe the sentence "flagship database" is not in the IBM press release. > It appears to be a sentence used by the press, not the press release. > Assuming this is so, we can of course discuss why the press has this idea... > Incompetence, IBM fault etc... > > Regards > > > > On Wed, Oct 14, 2009 at 10:12 AM, eherber <e...@herber-consulting.de> wrote: > > On 14 Okt., 09:30, eherber <e...@herber-consulting.de> wrote: > > > > .. "flagship DB2 database" ..  No marketing of course.  All databases > > > > are treated equally.  Some are more equal than others. > > > > Funny. It think it was B. Spang (mentioned in the computer world > > > article) from IBM who > > > said in  the past that it would be better not to call  any data server > > > of IBM a > > > "flagship database". Now I understand what he was trying to say: > > > > - don't call IDS a "flagship database for embedded solutions" > > > - don't call IDS a "flagship database for OLTP" > > > - don't call IDS a "flagship database for the MAC" > > > - don't call IDS a "flagship database for SMB" > > > - don't call IDS a "flagship cluster database" > > > > BUT > > > > - it is always welcome to call DB2 a "flagship database" in every > > > imaginable area > > > > I personally would recommend a more critical standpoint against IBM > > > both to > > > the Informix customers as well as to the IIUG. It is obvious that IBM > > > tells a different > > > story of the truth to the faithful Informix community. > > > To follow up on this, please vote here: > > >http://www.informix-zone.com/node/865 > > _______________________________________________ > > Informix-list mailing list > > Informix-l...@iiug.org > >http://www.iiug.org/mailman/listinfo/informix-list > > -- > Fernando Nunes > Portugal > > http://informix-technology.blogspot.com > My email works... but I don't check it frequently...

> From: eric@herber-consulting.de > Subject: Re: DB2 and Oracle -- where's Informix? > Date: Thu, 15 Oct 2009 03:08:59 -0700 > To: informix-list@iiug.org > > Fernando, > > no offense, but I think it is lame IBM excuse to denote that the press > is > incompetent and doesn't understand IBM's database strategy messaging. > In fact they understand it very well. > Fernando, If you were going to do a survey, ask all of the client reps, .dot com reps, IGS/BCS and even SWG outside of IM, ask them to list IBM' database products. How many of them would know something of IDS? And of those that do know something of IDS, how much of it is misinformation? How many times can I say that here in the Midwest of the US, the territory in IBM speak is North Central, are their IT Specialists who support IDS? Only 3 in the entire territory. That's 2 in Detroit, really 1 and 1/2, and one in Chicago. So how can you sell a product that you don't know or can support locally? Compare that to DB2 and you'll start to see what we're talking about. There's more, but why beat a dead horse. _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail: Free, trusted and rich email service. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/171222984/direct/01/