Re: informix/oracle comparison

Serge,

Next time that you chat with IBM folks also ask them the following questions:

1. Why should IBM's database division push Informix over DB2 . Is DB2 an inferior product than Informix ?
2. Why should any database company have two major lines of database server products, a DB2 line and an Informix line ?
3. Are you suggesting that because IBM has a commitment to support Informix then all future potential customers should buy Informix licenses verses DB2 licenses ?
4. Suppose you are in a sales meeting and a really important customer wants to spend millions in database products and services. Which database will IBM recommend - Informix or DB2 ?
5. How many ISP's (Independent Software Vendors) have committed to continue spending money and supporting an Informix port verses a DB2 port ?
6. Last but not least, why did IBM purchase Informix in the first place? I think once you answer this question then everything will become crystal clear.

I am not saying that IBM will not support Informix in the near future. IBM has a great reputation in supporting older products. Many people who answered the original question about Informix/Oracle were trying to advise against buying a product that may not receive as much attention as the IBM's DB2 product line. Informix WILL NOT receive as much attention as the IBM's own DB2 product line. Period. If you would like me to elborate on the reasons, I can, but this post will get very lengthy.

Anyone out there who is trying to buy a database license has only three viable alternatives these days - IBM, Oracle, MS SqlServer. I know this, you know this, and IBM and Oracle know this too. You still do not believe me ? OK. Just read the top story in the following link: http://www.oracle.com .

      Regards,
      Sam

Serge Rielau <srielau_at_ca.ibm.com> wrote in message news:<3B2C0F47.C65DDF82_at_ca.ibm.com>...
> Hi Daniel,
>
> Five years in a market with an 18month product cycle are 3 (three!) full
> releases.
> Noone knows who will be on which end of the market in five years.
> Five years ago DB2 on Unix/Windows had a marketshare of less than 5% and was in
> Version 2. Oracle chose to ignore DB2's existence back then.
> Now DB2 has tripled in market share and one look at the Oracle homepage is enough
> to see the change.
> In five years DB2 can easily be in a position to be the natural path to upgrade
> (not migrate) for an Informix customer if that were the plan to be chosen.
> So if in five years there will be no Informix IDS V12 - so what?
>
> And I invite you (for the third time, now) to read the more recent whitepaper I
> pointed you to and which you seemingly prefer to ignore :-)
>
> Cheers
> Serge
Received on Sun Jun 17 2001 - 03:22:10 CDT