PRESS: Informix in the News

List of Informix related articles. Format: PUBLICATION "Article Name" Summary of Article [Date, Location in Publication, Author] Informix in the News --------------------------------- (2/4/97) SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS "Informix defectors voted with feet, Oracle replies" Oracle claims that 11 of Informix's software developers who defected as a group from Informix's Portland, Oregon research and development facility were not recruited. Oracle also said it is confident the judge will find the company has done nothing wrong. Oracle also claims the Informix engineers approached Oracle via an independent recruiter. (1/28/97, pg. 1C, Ricardo Sandoval) SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS "Battle for high-tech brains comes to a head" The latest lawsuit between Informix and Oracle raises the issue of intellectual property and how companies fear losing trade secrets to the competition. Informix CEO Phil White says he is trying to put legal barriers between Oracle and the 11 developers on behalf of "the executives from the small companies" who have been calling him and urging him to proceed with the lawsuit. (2/3/97, pg. 1E, Ricardo Sandoval) INFORMATIONWEEK "Oracle and Informix turn up the heat" While Informix and Oracle battle over the latest legal issues, a new report from Gartner Group says Oracle has fallen behind Informix in the development of next-generation database software. According to Gartner Group, Informix has a "clear lead" in supporting complex data and says Oracle8 will be only a modest entry into object management. (2/3/97, pg. 26, John Foley) COMPUTER RESELLER NEWS "Oracle, Informix share war of words" In a memo sent out to all Oracle employees, Senior Vice President for Server Technologies Jerry Held ridiculed Informix's universal server lead, "Oracle has the lead in Universal Servers ... this sorry excuse for a database server [INFORMIX-Universal Server] runs on one - count 'em, one - platform." According to analysts, Oracle is unlikely to gain immediate advantages from the hiring of 11 engineers, due to legal wrangling and relative technological capabilities of the two companies' databases. (2/3/97, pg. 16, Shawn Willett) PC WEEK ONLINE "Oracle: Informix engineers came looking for Oracle, not vice versa" Jerry Held of Oracle told reporters that Oracle is completely uninterested in learning about Informix's technology secrets. According to David Stanley, vice president and general counsel at Informix, "It's a blatant attempt to steal people and technology." (1/28/97, online, Juan Perez) Additional coverage: COMPUTER RESELLER NEWS "Informix attorney speaks out" (1/24/97, online, Shawn Willett) COMPUTERWORLD "Oracle rebuts Informix" (2/3/97, pg. 8, staff writer) COMPUTERWORLD ONLINE "Informix defends lawsuit" (1/30/97, online, Elinor Mills) NETWORK WORLD "Informix Software, Inc." (2/3/97, pg. 29, staff writer) PC WEEK ONLINE "Ex-Informix engineers to work on network computing" (1/28/97, online, Juan Perez) COMPUTER RESELLER NEWS "Informix" Several analysts' reports confirmed what the industry already expected: Informix has surpassed Sybase to become the number-two database vendor behind Oracle. With the INFORMIX-Universal Server launch in December and subsequent customer shipment, Informix has beat its competitors to the punch. (2/3/97, pg. 50, staff writer) DATA MANAGEMENT REVIEW "Inside Informix" This article discusses the differences between Informix and Oracle and states that Informix has a chance of becoming the top-tier RDBMS vendor because of its highly specialized market knowledge, lack of competition with key business partners and its INFORMIX-Universal Server. (1/97, pg. 61, J.D. Hicks) OPEN INFORMATION SYSTEMS "Informix's killer application" Informix's launch of its INFORMIX-Universal Server represents a turning point in the balance of power in the database industry. With Sybase in "recovery mode" and IBM in "learning mode," Informix faces little opposition other than Oracle. Although Oracle will continue to lead in overall market share, Informix has captured mind share and momentum. The key to overtaking Oracle will be proliferating its DataBlades so that it becomes a de facto industry standard. (1/97, pg. 2, Wayne Eckerson) DATABASED ADVISOR "Recipe for success: mixing your warehouse with the Web" Integrated Device Technology (IDT) is highlighted in this article, and is using MetaCube for its data warehouse applications. "MetaCube brings a degree of intelligence to the handling of large databases," said Mike Thompson, MIS manager at IDT. IDT plans to use Illustra to deploy applications using Web and browser technology on its intranet. Thompson says the Illustra environment reduces set-up time and the cost of developing a Web-based warehouse. (2/97, pg. 55, David Baum) COMPUTERGRAM INTERNATIONAL "Informix moves MetaCube OLAP analysis to the data source" Informix plans to mold its MetaCube product into a DataBlade by the second half of 1997, which will run only against INFORMIX-Universal Server. "We want to move the algorithm to the data and make it run as part of the database," said Terry Lawlor, Informix's UK technology marketing manager. Also noted, NewEra is expected to be announced next month. (1/20-24/97, pg. 3, staff writer) THE BUSINESS JOURNAL "HP chooses team to create standards for super servers" Hewlett-Packard has teamed with Informix to gain access to Informix's database technology. The alliance makes sense because the companies often work with the same customers. The release of INFORMIX-Universal Server and the HP partnership should better position Informix in a market largely dominated by Oracle. (1/27-2/2/97, pg. 4, Malcolm Maclachan) ENT "Informix databases expand with Netscape" Informix has combined its Web-enablement database solution with Netscape Communications Corp.'s Internet and intranet software. The expansion offers a scalable database solution connecting distributed enterprises over the Web. (1/20/97, pg. 48, staff writer) ENT "Database vendors in fight for Universe" Racing to be the first and capturing market share from Oracle, Informix announced its INFORMIX-Universal Server in December. While Informix's product is new, IBM and Oracle have some experience with earlier products, including D2 Common Server V2 and Oracle7. (1/20/97, pg. 38, Sam Dickey) Additional coverage: ENT "You want objects? We got objects" (1/20/97, pg. 38, Robert Craig)