DBMS, April 1996 From the Editor By Maurice Frank

One-Stop Shopping

Can one vendor really meet all your needs?

Market preferences in the computer industry often swing back and forth like a pendulum. Before client/server, IBM's dominance of the mainframe universe left many customers feeling comfortable yet constrained. Client/server architectures promised -- and delivered -- a diverse world of open systems. Customers could build systems by mixing and matching the best interoperable tools ! well, maybe sometimes. With choice, you often get chaos.

The client/server market, like any other maturing industry, has been consolidating. The largest vendors want as much of your business as they can get, but are their product lines broad enough and deep enough? This issue's cover story on IBM's enterprise strategy (page 74) is the first of six articles that will evaluate the strategies and product lines of six major DBMS vendors. Upcoming issues will examine Sybase, Informix, Computer Associates, Oracle, and Microsoft.

I'd like to know how you feel about one-stop shopping for enterprise systems. Please complete this survey, and I'll summarize the results in an upcoming column. The DBMS Web site has an online version at http://www.dbmsmag.com/surveys.html. You can also fax your response to 770-977-9475.

This form is no longer active.







1. Do you now rely on a single primary vendor for most strategic products in your systems architecture? 
 Yes 
 No
2. If no, are you actively considering relying more on a primary vendor? 
 Yes 
 No
3. Which products would you require from a primary vendor:

RDBMS server for OLTP and operational systems

 Essential

 Desirable
 
 Buy elsewhere

Other DBMS servers (text, object, OLAP, and so forth)

 Essential

 Desirable

 Buy elsewhere

Application development tools

 Essential

 Desirable

 Buy Elsewhere

Middleware and connectivity tools

 Essential

 Desirable

 Buy Elsewhere

Network and server operating systems

 Essential

 Desirable

 Buy Elsewhere

System monitoring and administration tools

 Essential

 Desirable

 Buy Elsewhere

Internet servers and development tools

 Essential

 Desirable

 Buy Elsewhere

Database servers (hardware)

 Essential

 Desirable

 Buy Elsewhere

Training and technical support

 Essential

 Desirable

 Buy Elsewhere

4. What other products or services would you require from your primary vendor? (Write in all that apply.)


5. What other factors do you weigh heavily? (Write in all that apply.)


6. How important are these factors in your choice of a vendor:

Completeness of product line ...............
 Very
 Somewhat 
 Not

Technical quality of products ..............
 Very
 Somewhat 
 Not

Innovation (provide features first) ........
 Very
 Somewhat 
 Not

Technical support quality and cost .........
 Very
 Somewhat 
 Not

Product pricing and licensing plans ........
 Very
 Somewhat 
 Not

Financial health and viability of vendor ...
 Very
 Somewhat 
 Not

Word-of-mouth recommendations ..............
 Very
 Somewhat 
 Not

What you read in the trade press ...........
 Very
 Somewhat 
 Not

Extent of third-party support ..............
 Very
 Somewhat 
 Not

7. If you use multiple products from one vendor, have you encountered finger-pointing within that company? Has one product support group blamed a problem on another product from the same company? 
 Yes 
 No

DBMS Gets a Facelift

A magazine's design serves as its user interface. It must help you easily find and focus on what you need, and it should be pleasing to look at. DBMS's new design, which we unveil this month, is the brainchild of Barbara Licata, our Art Director. She explains: "I wanted to update the look of DBMS and make it more visually exciting and inviting for readers. I opened up the design by adding more space between columns of text, and made it less rigid by adding color and spot illustrations. I also redesigned the logo to make it bigger and bolder and gave it more presence on the cover. I hope readers find the new DBMS easier to read." DBMS would still be informative without Barbara's outstanding design skills, but it certainly wouldn't look as appealing. Thanks, Barbara!

You can email a letter to the editor right now.

Your letter must include your full name, address, daytime telephone number, and e-mail address. We ask for this information so we can verify a letter's authorship. Unless you state otherwise in your message, your Letter-to-the-Editor becomes the property of DBMS, and you grant permission for us to use it on our Letters Page along with your name, city, state, and e-mail address.

Please send questions or comments to mfrank@mfi.com
Updated Wednesday, March 13, 1996