DBMS Client/Server Connection - March 1996 DBMS Client/Server Connection - March 1996[Top of page] [DBMS home page]
On December 20, 1995, Informix Software Inc. (Menlo Park, Calif.) announced that it will acquire Illustra Information Technologies Inc. (Oakland, Calif.) for approximately 15 million shares of Informix stock (an estimated price of $300-400 million). Informix plans to integrate Illustra's dynamic content management system into its core parallel database technology, Dynamic Scalable Architecture (DSA). According to Informix officials, this technology integration will give it a significant market advantage over competing database vendors in providing a database engine that will be able to support the next wave of database applications, including Web applications. "This 'Universal Data Server' will put us 18 months to two years in front of anyone else in the business," says Informix CEO Phil White.
Illustra will become Informix's Oakland Lab, and developers will immediately begin work to integrate the Illustra Server technology into DSA. Illustra will also DSA-enable its DataBlade technology for multimedia, Web content, spatial data, and other data types. Illustra was founded by database guru Michael Stonebraker, of Ingres fame.
In addition, Informix announced in December that it will offer a Solaris 2.5 version of its new Informix-OnLine Workgroup Server that will run on the Intel platform. The product will be available in spring 1996. Informix-OnLine Workgroup Server, based on DSA, is designed for the workgroup environment and features administration tools, stored procedures, triggers, and a multithreaded architecture. The administration tools let users install, maintain, and back up databases from a client machine, rather than from the server. The alliance between Informix and SunSoft Inc. (Mountain View, Calif.) is part of an ongoing partnership between the two companies to develop products jointly. In early 1995, Informix announced the availability of the Informix-OnLine Dynamic Server and Informix-SE, which both run on the Solaris operating environment for Intel-based platforms. With the addition of Informix-OnLine Workgroup Server, Solaris users can now have a complete family of database server products, from the workgroup to the enterprise. Informix Software Inc., 415-926-6300.
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Sybase Inc. (Emeryville, Calif.) recently announced the formation of a Workplace Database Division, which will focus on the PC database server market. The new unit will leverage the sales model, channel/partner focus, and support programs of Sybase's Powersoft division. The Workplace Database product family will initially include Sybase SQL Anywhere (formerly Watcom SQL) and Sybase SQL Server 11 for Windows NT. Dave Boswell, former Watcom vice president of sales and marketing, has been named vice president and general manager of the Workplace Database Division, reporting to David Litwak, senior vice president of Sybase Inc. and president of Powersoft.
According to company officials, key to Sybase's PC server strategy is the recognition of the rapidly emerging "new workplace" market, which is driven by the need to extend the IT-enabled workplace from traditional environments supported by centralized IS to anywhere people work.
Sybase also announced a technology alliance with Persistence Software Inc. (San Mateo, Calif.) to offer object-to-relational software that integrates object applications with relational databases. Persistence has developed technology that supports the application coding requirements for object-oriented classes to access SQL Server automatically. Sybase Inc., 510-922-3500; Persistence Software Inc., 415-341-7733.
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Btrieve Technologies Inc. (BTI, Austin, Texas) and Magic Software Enterprises Inc. (Irvine, Calif.) announced a strategic alliance to develop and market a bundled toolkit comprised of Magic's development tools and BTI's Scalable SQL and Btrieve database engines. This new toolkit will give developers an integrated solution for the rapid development of applications that scale from palmtop devices to client/server environments. The partnership will include joint technical development and product integration. BTI, 512-794-1719; Magic Software, 714-250-1718.
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Blyth Software Inc. (Foster City, Calif.) announced in January that it is partnering with IBM Corp. (Armonk, N.Y.) to provide the Omnis client/server application development environment for the OS/2 Warp platform. Omnis already supports Microsoft Windows, Windows NT, and the Power Macintosh. Under terms of the agreement, IBM and Blyth will work together on product development and marketing. Shipment of an Intel-based version of Omnis for the Warp platform is planned for mid-1996, with a
PowerPC version scheduled for fall 1996. IBM will also co-sponsor Blyth's International Users Conference, which will be held in spring 1996. Blyth Software Inc., 415-571-0222; IBM Corp., 800-426-3333.
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