Re: Informix Software is Finished...

ALAN COWAN wrote: > Sad, but such a good product is unlikely to disappear. > Sad that a good product probably won't disappear? (Sounds like a good thing, unless you have a strong interest in their competitors). > Looks like the only LOGICAL solution is a merger with Sybase. > (If not financially viable). > Possibly, both Sybase and Informix have good products, but have underperformed in the market. > Cannot think of a company who would takeover Informix > (apart from Oracle. Mind you if Boeing can takeover McDonnell Douglas, > as more > of a charitable gesture than anything else, then Oracle can do it to > get the > Informix customer base, even although the Informix customers probably > will > eventually have to convert to Oracle [if not Sybase] anyway). > Oracle has been taking its fair share of criticism from the techno-press as well. > "Today if you want an alternative to Oracle, there's no one > else but Sybase," said Neil Herman, analyst at > investment bank > Salomon Brothers Inc. > As for Sybase, what can one say about an RDBMS which cannot support row level locking? > Is IBM's DB2 chopped liver, or what? > I wish I could comment on DB2, but I know very little about it.Depending on whose marketing literature you're reading, each of these vendors products have the best performance. Oracle has always been seen as a good solid product, but with a very high price; their recent venture into NCs, I see as a loss of focus in their real strength and makes me question whether they are as committed to data as they once were. I dabbled with Sybase for a while, and though it was a very good product seemed to have numerous quirks (I was using 10.2, and converting to XI was presented to me as if it were the Holy Grail or something, but alas, I didn't stick around long enough to find out for myself.)It seems to me that Informix has made a few marketing blunders, but their core product (IMO) is their database engine, which is very solid, reliable and quick. Sure, I'll bitch as loud as anyone about any bug I find in it, but I kind of doubt the others are bug-free, and as far as I know, there has not been anything really serious bug-wise (which wasn't fixed in a maintenance release) since version 5. I think the stock market problems Informix has faced are due to a number of factors, most important of which is the willingness of investors to buy into the "magic bullets" advertised by the marketing depts. When the magic bullets fall short of expectations, they are abandoned, leading to an overinflated stock price becoming undervalued (can you say "buying opportunity"?). I could be wrong, but I think Informix (and its' stock) will bounce back in the next year or so. It's difficult to anticipate this kind of thing, given the volatility of "current" technology, but if Informix mgmt can sort the hype out from what business really wants, and devote itself to fulfilling this need, they could very well dominate in the near future. On the other hand, if people lose faith in the product and Informix doesn't reassure them by responding to what is really wanted, they will die on the vine. Generally this doesn't happen, unless the company becomes so arrogant as to alienate consumers. In short, I think Informix will survive, either as a leader, or as one of the stragglers, but for its users to survive, they should seriously consider making their products as portable from database to database as possible. Alan > ______________________________ Reply Separator > _________________________________ > Subject: Informix Software is Finished... > Author: paynesys@aol.com (Paynesys) at INTERNET > Date: 9/22/97 11:25 PM > > I've just heard the latest bad news about Informix: > adjusting '95 and '96 revenue figures; NASDAQ > starting de-listing procedures. > > I've been using Informix products now for about > 4 years now, and I'm beginning to doubt the company's > future. > > Please post your thoughts on this matter. > > paynesys@aol.com -- - Danny Wright danwright@bigfoot.com #include <stddisclaimers.h> Idiot, n.: A member of a large and powerful tribe whose influence in human affairs has always been dominant and controlling. - Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary"