PRESS INFORMIX SOFTWARE AND TIVOLI SYSTEMS TEAM TO PROVIDE SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT SOLUTION

INFORMIX SOFTWARE AND TIVOLI SYSTEMS TEAM TO PROVIDE SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT SOLUTION Integrated Products Will Simplify Management of Distributed Databases MENLO PARK, Calif., (Aug. 24, 1994) -- Informix Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:IFMX), the leader in parallel processing database technology, and Tivoli Systems Inc., the leader in distributed systems management technology, today announced a joint agreement under which Informix will license and embed the Tivoli TME Architecture into INFORMIX'-OnLine Dynamic Server(TM). The companies will also work together to seamlessly integrate a complete suite of Informix administration tools into the TME Architecture. An integrated product is scheduled to be available for uniprocessor, symmetric multiprocessor, clustered, and massively parallel systems beginning in the second half of 1995. Integration of the Informix and Tivoli products will enable database administrators to address two key obstacles to managing distributed client/server environments: scalability and heterogeneity. The integrated product will enable users to manage hundreds of Informix database servers from a single point, versus managing them on an individual basis. In addition, the TME Architecture masks the complexity posed by multivendor hardware and operating system environments, allowing database administrators to focus on integrated systems management solutions instead of the underlying system differences. Specifics of the Agreement Specifically, the agreement provides for: -Informix to incorporate elements of the TME Architecture into its OnLine Dynamic Server in order to automatically enable seamless distributed database administration for Informix's customers. -Informix to integrate the Tivoli TME Architecture with a complete family of Informix database monitoring and management tools. Informix will be supplying administration tools integrated into Tivoli in the following areas: - Server status monitoring, configuration, and control - Backup, restore, and recovery - Capacity planning and physical design assistance - Performance monitoring - Data replication monitoring and control - High-speed data loading/unloading -Informix to license the Tivoli development products to develop customized applications which leverage the TME Architecture. Through this capability, specialized enhancements to Informix's standard administration tools may be added for specific customers or market segments, and application-specific management tools may be added to enrich Informix's and Tivoli's database, system, and network administration services. -Informix to provide first line technical support to its customers using the integrated products. "Partnering with industry-leading vendors is the cornerstone to Informix's success. This latest partnership with Tivoli exemplifies our commitment to form alliances with industry leaders to provide the best solutions for our customers," said Phil White, chairman and CEO, Informix. "The combined strengths of Informix and Tivoli will provide an excellent solution to maximize the effectiveness of managing distributed enterprise applications." "Administration of distributed database servers integrated with systems management is one of the keys to making client/server work," said Frank Moss, CEO and president of Tivoli Systems Inc. "We are delighted to be working closely with Informix to bring these disciplines together into an integrated product, based on the TME Architecture." Integrated Approach Will Provide Efficient, Flexible Systems Management Integration of the Informix and Tivoli products will provide a number of benefits to organizations implementing distributed client/server environments, including: -Reduced personnel costs. A common administration environment, and the ability to manage many copies of the DBMS from a single console will reduce the training required and the number of experts that will be needed to manage a network of database systems. For example, the use of common services and a consistent metaphor for interaction across a variety of administrative tools decreases the learning curve for new administrators and for adding new tools into an existing suite. The number of database administrators needed for a distributed environment should also be significantly reduced over non-integrated environments. -Broader tools selection. All of the administration tools that are integrated into the TME Architecture for system, network, or Informix database administration will be available for use by Informix's customers. This includes tools supplied by Informix, Tivoli, and any other third party that chooses to develop for this environment. For the first time, Informix customers will be able to use a common administration environment to monitor and manage their operating systems, networks, and databases. Additionally, the high degree of support for the TME Architecture that has been displayed by the major RDBMS vendors should encourage significant ISV development activity around Tivoli, particularly in the area of heterogeneous DBMS administration. -The integration of parallel computing architectures. In addition to the ability to monitor and manage groups of distributed servers, the TME Architecture will supply key services for Informix's upcoming version of OnLine Dynamic Server for clustered and massively parallel systems. In these "loosely-coupled" system architectures, multiple copies of the OnLine Dynamic Server will be integrated into a "single-system view". This will achieve the manageability that more closely approximates a single copy of the database system, but with the excellent scalability that the new OnLine Dynamic Scalable Architecture provides for parallel hardware platforms. Through single-system view administration, loosely-coupled parallel platforms will become infinitely more manageable and acceptable for high-end commercial applications, such as data warehousing. About the Technology OnLine Dynamic Server is based on Informix's next-generation multithreaded, parallel processing database architecture, Dynamic Scalable Architecture(TM) (DSA). DSA includes Parallel Data Query (PDQ), a first-of-its-kind parallel processing technology for open systems that breaks the scalability barriers of previous UNIX (R) database architectures unable to handle the data volume loads, system administration needs, and performance restraints of enterprise-wide online transaction processing (OLTP), batch and decision support (DSS) applications. PDQ provides tens to hundreds times performance gains over conventional databases because it breaks long-running database processing tasks into subtasks and then processes those tasks in parallel. This approach maximizes the power of each central processing unit (CPU) in a multiprocessor hardware system. The Tivoli TME Architecture provides a set of common services across distributed computers, enabling Tivoli, its customers and independent software developers to build interoperable systems management applications. The TME Architecture provides the basis for Tivoli's complete systems management solution, which includes a suite of management appl