Re: Informix left standing
David Williams wrote: +>Oracle and Sybase are integrating tools and apps into their marketing +>strategy. Informix is focusing on the database itself without tools or +>apps. If you're looking for 'one-stop shopping', would you consider +>Informix? +> + If you are at the top end and need the best possible engine?? + + Do you really think Oracle and Sybase can do better than the dedicated + tool vendors like Microsoft and Borland who already have years of + tools development behind them? Well, I have to disagree with this sentiment. What I am seeing happen is more and more shops are looking to move away from the pick and choose approach, and are looking to one vendor/integrator for an entire SOLUTION. This was a lesson Informix should have learned YEARS ago from 4gl. When it was the app dev tool of choice, they got the tool sale AND the server sale. Now, if you are just selling the server, you have to rely on the 3rd party tools out there to make your server look good. If the app tool is crappy and the app runs slow, the user doesn't know the cause - they blame the whole SOLUTION. And the db server gets tossed out with the bathwater. And Sybase and Oracle don't have to do BETTER than MS or Borland - they only have to offer a complete SOLUTION that works fairly well at a price that doesn't make the customer pass out. They may not eat all of MS & Borland's lunch, but there is plenty on that buffet table to go around. Sadly, Informix STILL has not woken up to the need to offer workable SOLUTIONs, rather than just fast servers. Do you go out and get a new car by buying the best engine from one company, then the best interior from another, the best chassis from a third, etc.? No - you buy the one that comes closest to your needs/wants at the price you want to pay, and you put up with any perceived shortcomings. A lot of Oracle's success is due to the apps they sell (Oracle Financials), which makes the server sale (if you are buying the app, you have to buy the server). This is, by no means, rocket science. Dave