Informix To Intro Foundation.2000

Informix Corp. tomorrow will release its Internet-centric online analytical processing (OLAP) server, part of its two-year product roadmap first outlined in January.

Formerly code-named Centaur, the new object/relational database server has been renamed Informix Internet Foundation.2000; the product is slated to ship in August.

Informix will also announce the Informix Dynamic Server.2000, a new version of its bread-and-butter online transaction processing (OLTP) server. IDS is described as a migration step to the Foundation.2000 product.

Informix will make both announcements at its Solutions Portal '99 worldwide user conference in San Diego.

"Foundation.2000 is IDS plus Internet data management, including Java and COM/ActiveX support in the database core," said Informix marketing manager Randy Brasche.

Included in Foundation.2000 is J-Foundation, Infomix's Java extensions; the Excalibur and Web DataBlades, for text search and Web publishing, respectively; and a COM adapter.

Informix will also include a new product, called Informix Office Connect, which allows data extraction from Foundation.2000 to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

Analysts said Informix was still apparently caught between Java--an extensibility architecture already endorsed by database competitors IBM, Oracle and Sybase--and its own DataBlade architecture, an innovation that fetched far fewer third-party developers than Informix originally hoped it would.

"It's clear from this [announcement] they have not finished that transition, because they're avoiding either a ringing defense of how DataBlades has evolved or making an acknowledgement that this is a better idea," said Giga Information Group vice president Merv Adrian.

Informix and the other database vendors--all of whom now support Java both in their databases and their stand-alone Java application servers--have not done a good job explaining to customers "what business logic needs to be in the database and what need to be in the application server," Adrian said.

Meanwhile, Informix has been making small strides back to financial health, amid a change in its executive suite. In May, CEO Bob Finocchio, who joined Informix in 1997 and is credited with turning around the company's deep financial troubles, announced his intention to leave the post in July, although continuing on as chairman of the board.

Today, Jean-Yves Dexmier, currently executive vice president, worldwide field operations, will take over as CEO.

Meanwhile, Informix sources also indicated that Yellowstone, the code-name for Informix's next-generation data warehouse server, is on track for a September release.

The Informix Dynamic Server.2000 costs $1,500 per seat, and is a free trade-up for existing customers of Dynamic Server 7.x and 9.x. The Informix Internet Foundation Server.2000 will be offered for $1,800 per seat through next August, when the price will jump to $2,400 per user.