Informix catches up to net power

Database supplier looks to jump on the internet bandwagon with the creation of two web divisions. Cath Everett in San Diego.

Informix will make a late entrance into the internet market when it finally sets up two web oriented business units.

The vendor plans to set up a net operation on 1 October to sell its Internet Foundation.2000 database, formerly codenamed Centaur, to OEMs to install in their products.

It is also planning a web systems unit which will include net-based products such as the media asset management business and the i.sell and i.reach applications packages.

Product management, marketing and development staff will be under one roof as Informix aims for a customer friendly image. Its business intelligence (BI) division will remain intact, although it will have increased focus on channel sales.

Informix is targeting additional sales channels, such as electronic distribution, because the vendor believes this will promote operational efficiency by enabling it to sell a higher volume of products at a higher margin.

At the firm's Information Portal user group meeting in San Diego last week, Diane Fraiman, vice president of marketing at Informix, said: "The aim is to create a laser beam focus on web technology. It's the next step in what we already have and we want a strong focus on web packages to boost growth."

Alan Kerr, European vice president at Informix, said the online transaction processing (OLTP) market was growing at about 20 per cent as customers extended their applications. "We're never going to significantly expand the business on that. BI is growing at 35 per cent, so it's got some good possibilities and the Red Brick acquisition has the potential for a lot of growth.

"But there is no dominant player in the web space, so this is where we'll focus our efforts," he added.

Two years ago, the database supplier was involved in a financial debacle, following accounting irregularities and an over-emphasis on its Illustra object/relational database at the expense of its core products. Informix has since recovered, but the firm's share price is still languishing at about $8 and is no longer regarded very highly on Wall Street.

The vendor has seen its revenue increased by 19 per cent to $206.8m for its second quarter ended 30 June. These figures were boosted by about $8m due to the acquisition of the software vendor Red Brick.