IBM's Informix buy pays off

A year after IBM announced it was paying $1 billion for the Informix software business, the bet seems to be paying off.

Informix database users say IBM has worked diligently, and for the most part successfully, to keep them satisfied. Very few have defected to database rivals Oracle or Microsoft. One market research study, disputed by Oracle, has IBM now edging out Oracle from the top spot. Even without the Informix revenue, IBM says its DB2 Universal Database on Unix grew 15% in 2001.

In interviews with Network World, however, several users voiced some complaints. One is that IBM needs to explain more clearly its product plans and the migration strategy that will result in incorporating some parts of the Informix data management products into the DB2 line.

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Another complaint is that the layers of bureaucracy in the giant company can frustrate customers who want, or need, quick decision-making.

When the acquisition was announced in spring 2001, some customers were worried that IBM would force them to shift from the well-regarded Informix products, such as Informix Dynamic Server or Informix Extended Parallel Server, to DB2. But other customers breathed a sigh of relief.

"Once I got past the surprise [of the acquisition], I was pleased," recalls Paul Mosser, database analyst with a Wells Fargo Bank site in Tempe, Ariz. "The Informix technology is outstanding. But the [former] Informix management, frankly, mismanaged the company. I was glad to see a solid, well-established company [IBM] take over this excellent technology."

A year later, Mosser remains happy. An onsite Informix engineer is still part of the bank's support contract with IBM. "That's very important for us," Mosser says. During the year, support actually has improved, he says. "There does seem to be a more formal, a more attentive [way] to getting things fixed," he says.

That attention to detail also appears in the Informix software releases and enhancements that IBM has shepherded during the past year. Users say Informix software releases now have fewer bugs and problems, and that IBM is delivering an array of desired improvements and new features. Wells Fargo relies heavily on an Informix feature called high-availability data replication. "At one point, Informix thought of discontinuing it," Mosser says. "IBM has continued the feature and addressed some problems in it. It's getting a lot more attention."

No pressure

A year ago, IBM promised there would be no pressure for Informix customers to shift over to DB2. Users say IBM has kept that promise. "There has been no pressure or inducement to shift applications to DB2," says Michael Scheuermann, senior OEM vendor manager for Motorola's Global Telecom Solutions Sector, a software consulting group. "Currently we have no plans to shift because Informix products used in our current applications meet our needs at this time."

From the outset, IBM has said it would take a close look at the Informix database products and incorporate selected features in future releases of DB2. Among other things, users say, they expect these features will include an array of Informix utilities and the widely used Informix 4GL language.

"There have been a number of user group meetings and the IBM-Informix product development leads were very explicit about what was going to be shifted over from Informix to DB2," says Cecile Francis, regional vice president with Xtivia Technologies, an Edison, N.J., IT services company. Previously, she was a consultant with Informix.

IBM has caught some Informix customers' attention with DB2.

"They have made it easier for customers to develop and deploy on DB2," Francis says. "You can pay one price for an Informix license [renewal] and get a copy of DB2 for evaluation and development at no additional charge."

"We'll continue to support the Informix database product line for as long as need be," says Janet Perna, general manager of data management in the IBM software group. "Our strategy is not to migrate existing applications [to DB2], but as companies start building the next generation of applications, we think they'll want to build them on the next-generation database - DB2."

Some frustration

Informix users say that they've been frustrated at times by IBM's bureaucracy, its sheer size as well as a failure to be consistently clear in its messages to the Informix community.

"We would welcome a clearer understanding of how the Informix database products fit into the broader IBM product portfolio and road maps," Motorola's Scheuermann says.

"IBM has had a hard time simply communicating its intentions to Informix users," Mosser says.

Francis recalls the smaller database company often could approve new contracts in 24 hours. "I haven't seen that yet with IBM," she says.

She might never see it, but it might not matter in the end if IBM can hold on to the loyalty of Informix users and give them a gentle path to DB2.

For now, IBM's Perna is breathing a bit easier. On July 1 last year, she was one of the first IBMers to walk into Informix's Menlo Park, Calif., headquarters to face a room packed with new IBM employees.

"In the audience was a man who had once worked for me at IBM," she recalls. "He'd retired from IBM and later joined Informix. He was smiling at me. I thought, 'This is going to work.'"

So far, it has.

Contact Senior Editor John Cox

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