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 10/9/96 NETWORK WORLD "Informix adds objects to database mix" Last week, Informix began shipping the beta version of its Universal Server and plans to ship the product by year's end. Analysts said Informix is at least three months ahead of Oracle and other rivals in having a product ready for beta test. Informix is addressing customer needs to manage fast-growing Web sites and connecting Web sites with corporate data resources with its Web DataBlade and a set of tools. Analysts, however, question the need to mix business-critical information with multimedia within a single server. (10/7/96, pg. 37, John Cox) INFOWORLD "Oracle, Informix face off in Web objects war" Informix and Oracle, both of the industry's leading database vendors, recognize objects are essential to the Web-dominated environment, but they differ in their solutions. Informix is encouraging ISVs to write and test new DataBlades. Like Informix, Oracle wants third parties to write cartridges -- or objects that support a CORBA interface -- for Oracle's servers and tools. Analysts say Oracle's Network Computing Architecture (NCA) is partly in response to Informix's DataBlade marketing. "Oracle is trying to prevent Informix from gaining too much DataBlade momentum in the ISV community," said Wayne Eckerson, an analyst with the Patricia Seybold Group. Oracle says its architecture is more secure. (10/7/96, pg. 37, Mark Leon) DATABASE PROGRAMMING AND DESIGN "A database of all trades" Informix DataBlades offer an innovative approach to integrating a variety of data types that businesses seek to support in their IT systems. This cover article explains how one DataBlade developer, Michael Keeler, president of ECOlogic, used Informix's technology to build applications on top of the Illustra object/relational server. Keeler also summarizes the history of DataBlade development and the technology's relevance to the Web. (11/96, pg. 36, Michael Keeler) LAN TIMES "MPP databases to relieve information overload" Hitachi Computer Products, Inc. and Tandem Computers, Inc. have announced new database management systems for their massively parallel processing computer systems in response to the rapid growth of data warehouses and Web applications, such as intranets. Tandem has partnered with Informix to incorporate Informix's DataBlade API into Tandem's ServerWare SQL MPP database software. Rather than redesign its engine as Hitachi has done, Tandem is incorporating DataBlades to work with non-traditional data types. While MPP systems appeal to only a small market due to their high price tag, analysts believe this market is extremely influential. (9/30/96, pg. 14, Brent Dorshkind) COMPUTERWORLD "Coming from behind" Informix is making a determined bid to gain ground on rivals Oracle and Microsoft in workgroup computing and OLAP. This month, Informix expanded platform support for its OnLine Workgroup Server and also detailed a MetaCube 3.0 release with several new features. According to Informix, OnLine Workgroup Server is easier to install and use than rival products from Oracle and Microsoft. Analysts concur, but say the slow path that Informix took to ship Workgroup Server has put the company behind its rivals in the low-end business. Informix is also fighting an uphill battle in OLAP tools, trying to increase MetaCube's visibility and market share. (9/30/96, pg. 49, Craig Stedman) INFORMATIONWEEK "Towering terabytes" Building and maintaining terabyte-sized databases costs millions of dollars, but the payback can be huge and immediate. This article examines today's "terabyte club" of businesses that are leveraging their information resources for competitive advantages. Informix customers CMG Direct Interactive, GTE and MCI explain the different ways they are managing their vast data resources. (9/30/96, pg. 34, John Foley) SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS "Silicon Valley's hot product: capital" Today, Silicon Valley business ventures are being funded not only by venture capitalists, but by companies such as Cisco Systems, Inc., Informix and Netscape Communications Corp. Establishing internal venture capital divisions or buying minority stakes in promising young technology companies, Silicon Valley businesses have bought pieces of more than 70 start-up firms. Companies buy small pieces of start-ups, rather than acquire them, if they are unusually small or cater to an unproven market. "We and other companies see a lot more innovation in the market than ever before, and we know we can't develop it all ourselves," said Jeff Hudson, vice president of business development at Informix, which has invested in eight technology companies in the last 12 months. "We decided we had to find a way to stay close to new and highly innovative companies that target the Internet -- or risk falling behind." (9/30/96, pg. 1E, Steve Kaufman) DATA MANAGEMENT REVIEW "Informix edge" Multi-tiered architectures have matured to the point that they now enable true, distributed computing. With products such as Informix's ESQL/C Thread-safe, developers can design RDBMSs that use distributed objects across the enterprise. This article examines the object-oriented approach to multi-tiered architectures using Informix software. The integration of Informix and an object broker environment furthers the seamless delivery of easy-to-use applications across the enterprise. Informix's ESQL/C Thread-safe was in beta testing at the time this column was written. (9/96, pg. 27, staff writer) THE RED HERRING "Getting carded" Informix and Hewlett-Packard Co. recently signed an agreement with the largest manufacturer of chip-embedded plastic cards, Gemplus International, to manufacture and support smart cards, the thinnest of clients. This article details the success of programmable smart cards in Europe and predicts their success and time-to-market in the United States. Analysts suggest that smart cards will first enter the U.S. through vertical markets, where infrastructure is not such a daunting barrier. Forrester Research believes that smart cards will be accepted in the U.S. and sees opportunities for startups in laying the groundwork to support them. (9/96, pg. 30, Mark Leon) THE RED HERRING "Big deal" This article profiles Informix customer BigBook, Inc., a free on-line service that hopes to revolutionize the world of consumer business information by offering "an entirely new kind of yellow pages." Informix provided the company with its database software in exchange for an equity stake, along with other companies such as SGI and Organic Online. BigBook gained a competitive edge by launching its service nearly nine months before other Internet directory start-ups. (9/96, pg. 51, Andrew Madden) COMMUNICATIONS WEEK "A virtual shopping paradise thrives" The Internet Shopping Ne