Trying to decide whether to support DB2 or Oracle

For those of you who don't know me, I am the author of the "Informix DBA Survival Guide", which is the best-selling book ever published about Informix, published by Informix Press and in its second edition. My figures show that approximately 25-35% of all Informix shops have a copy of my book. I've been a speaker at the last two Informix User Conferences, so there should no be no question that before last Tuesday, I've been 100% Informix. I dream in ESQL/C.

 I've had over 6000 visitors to my Informix DBA Survival Guide website in the last week, and many of my customers and prospective customers are asking me for guidance about where to go from here. Problem is, I'm not sure what to tell them.

Now, I'm in a quandary. I believe that in the long run, Informix products are toast. I'm looking for good business reasons why I should support either DB2 or Oracle. I'm considering becoming "database agnostic, but that is a little bit "middle of the road" for my tastes. I believe that eventually I will either move totally to the DB2 or to the Oracle camp, and I'm having a hard time deciding which is the better move in the short and long terms. I believe I will probably remain database-agnostic until someone shows me good reasons why I should go either way.

I'm cross-posting this to the Informix, DB2, and Oracle groups, not with the intention of starting a flame war or sticking a knife in anybody, but in the interest in learning more about the two camps. I'm much more interested today in the business side than in the technical side. If you ask me today, I'll still say Informix is the best technical choice, but I am open to proof.

Why would it make more business sense for a consultant such as myself to move into either one of these two camps? I market a CRM application for Informix, and I think this may tend to tilt the advantage to Oracle because of their dominance in the CRM market, but I'm ready to listen to all sides.

If anybody can give me a peek from an executive or decision-maker's viewpoint, that would be even better. I know we're all techies here, and that we don't always know what's happening in the walnut-paneled offices.

Joe Lumbley
JP Lumbley & Associates, LLC
Dallas, Tx Received on Tue May 01 2001 - 18:48:59 CDT