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Re: Informix Race Car

Posted in 2006

Topics: Security, Permissions & Auditing

elanleblanc@yahoo.com — — source: Usenet: comp.databases.informix

Hi Eric - IBM has very strict rules regarding logos. We are specifically prohibited from associating logos with products. The green box DB2 is and always has been a brand logo. But I'm trying to use the logo anywhere I can without ending up in IBM jail. We can do logos that business partners can use, something like "Powered by IBM Informix Dynamic Server" or "Built on IBM IDS" or "Ready for..." . The discussions have just started so please tell me your ideas. We can also grant partners the right to use the older logo. And thanks for being attentive and noticing our race car. I hope you also noticed that the DB2 logo is gone. We're still working on the breadcrumbs. Thanks, C

↪ replying to elanleblanc@yahoo.com
Eric Herber — — source: Usenet: comp.databases.informix

elanleblanc@yahoo.com wrote: > Hi Eric - IBM has very strict rules regarding logos. We are > specifically prohibited from associating logos with products. The > green box DB2 is and always has been a brand logo. But I'm trying to > use the logo anywhere I can without ending up in IBM jail. We can do > logos that business partners can use, something like "Powered by IBM > Informix Dynamic Server" or "Built on IBM IDS" or "Ready for..." . The > discussions have just started so please tell me your ideas. We can > also grant partners the right to use the older logo. > > And thanks for being attentive and noticing our race car. I hope you > also noticed that the DB2 logo is gone. We're still working on the > breadcrumbs. > > Thanks, > > C Christine, I understand that you are constrained by the rules of your company to a certain extent. I also noticed the progress that has been made regarding the removal of the DB2 logo and the publishing of the IDS/BAAN benchmark and documented these positive things in the Informix marketing request list: http://www.herber-consulting.de/cgi-bin/IfxMarkReq.pl But if you look at the last 5 years since the Informix takeover by IBM and all the negative things that happened around Informix then a conservative/shy marketing is definetely not enough. Informix has gone out of the focus of the IT executives and also the developers. Most of the people still supporting and advising Informix are database administrators which appreciate the ease of use, performance and reliability of IDS. Unfortunately those folks have only a limited influence in decisions regarding database strategy in their companies. This might vary from company to company but in most cases they will not have the potency to direct the decision toward Informix. One prominent example is the lack of support from SAP regarding their NetWeaver platform in combination with IDS. Even it a DBA believes devoutly in IDS, he will have no chance to push it if the support from the third party application vendors is missing. To bring Informix back it needs more than a letter from Ambuj Goyal which has been limited to eyes of the Informix community only, it needs more than a BAAN/IDS benchmark that has not been communicated to the press, it needs more than a virtual race car..... Major steps to improve the Informix visibility are documented in the Informix marketing request list mentioned above. Building logos for business partners is a good approach. Even a more radical idea would be to outsource the Informix product marketing to some partner(s) sponsored to a certain extent by IBM. This would allow a more flexible, aggressive marketing around IDS not directly constrained by the strict rules of IBM. A marketing that could articulate the benefits of IDS loud and clearly without having to take respect about other database products from the same vendor. However I guess that this will not happen -:) So please go on with your efforts regarding Informix marketing and try to expand the given constraints of your company as wide as you can. The Informix products deserve it. Wish you a nice weekend. Eric

↪ replying to elanleblanc@yahoo.com
Sand Kicker — — source: Usenet: comp.databases.informix

elanleblanc@yahoo.com wrote: > Hi Eric - IBM has very strict rules regarding logos. We are > specifically prohibited from associating logos with products. The > green box DB2 is and always has been a brand logo. But I'm trying to > use the logo anywhere I can without ending up in IBM jail. We can do > logos that business partners can use, something like "Powered by IBM > Informix Dynamic Server" or "Built on IBM IDS" or "Ready for..." . The > discussions have just started so please tell me your ideas. We can > also grant partners the right to use the older logo. > > And thanks for being attentive and noticing our race car. I hope you > also noticed that the DB2 logo is gone. We're still working on the > breadcrumbs. > > Thanks, > > C > If you people are so serious about the Informix brand and the Informix product line, how come you don't have a really active, really visible program for developers--and not just the 20 or so people that are already familiar with your product ? Why isn't there a more visible program for developers outside the IBM/Informix/IIUG sphere? Seems to me from what I've seen that you are gently, lightly easing Informix out of existence when the only people you push the product to are only the faithful, existing, installed base. Can't be any other reason for it.