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Informix@IBM - The Future did just begin

Submitted by eherber on Tue, 2006-10-17 22:55

Informix@IBM - The Future did just begin


Last Update: 2009-06-14


What happens at IBM ?

IBM realized the benefits of IDS and changed the strategy regarding their
database products. The merge of IDS and DB2 has been canceled.
Both data servers will be developed and promoted independently from each other

IDS is now on par with DB2 and both data servers will be positioned for
their respective target markets:

  • DB2 is the strategic data server for data warehousing and XML centric
    environments.
  • IDS is the strategic data server for OLTP based environments where reliability,
    scalability and high availability are the key points.
    IDS is also - due to it's simplicity and robustness - IBM's preferred data server for integrated solutions.

Please also read also the IDS@IBM - The Positioning of a Cult Database article to learn more about IBM's data server strategy.


DB2 Brand gone


IBM renamed the brand DB2 Information Management Software to Information Management Software:

The brand renaming proves IBM's commitment to IDS and demonstrates the increasing influence of IDS inside IBM's Information Management Division.


DB2 Magazine renamed

The DB2 Magazine does no longer exist. It has been renamed to IBM Database Magazine. This is the 2nd important name change beside the renaming of the DB2 brand.

The new magazine title emphasizes IBM's dual database strategy.


Letters from Ambuj Goyal


Ambuj Goyal, General Manager of the IBM Information Management Division, documented
IBM's support for Informix and further investments in the Informix technology in these
public letters:


Key Engineers re-assigned to IDS


Many key kernel engineers have been re-assinged to IDS and are currently working
on Cheetah which is the codename of the major release of IDS. Take a
look at this interesting blog from an IBM employee:

Guy Bowerman, The rise of Informix

This emphasizes the relevance of IDS for IBM's Information Management Division.
We will soon the results of the increased engineering power.


Double Digit License Revenue Growth in 2006, 2007 and 2008


The Informix business had a fantastic 30 % growth rate throughout 2006, 2007 and 2008. Rumors in the Informix Newsgroup say that IDS sells better than DB2 LUW.


How will Informix move on ?


IDS 11 (Cheetah) released


IDS 11 (Codename Cheetah) has hit the road in 2007. This release contains a whole bunch of new functionality especially in the area of high availability. With the delivery of IDS 11 IBM makes clear that Informix is the data server of choice for environments that that need a real cluster database which provides outstanding reliability and scalability. A new web based administration tool called OAT (Open Admin Tool) has been released together with IDS 11. OAT is cost free and distributed under an open source license:


IDS 11.5 (Cheetah 2) released


At the IIUG conference 2008 IBM announced IDS 11.5 (Codename: Cheetah 2), the next version of Informix Dynamic Server. IDS 11.5 offers full write support on any instance in a IDS cluster as well as a new connection manager for load balancing and automatic failover:

An overview about IDS 11.5 can be found here:


Free IDS 11 and 11.5 Developer Edition


IBM offers a brand new free version of IDS 11.1/11.5 for developers. The IDS Developer Edition contains the full Informix functionality including Enterprise Replication, HDR, Shared Disk Clustering, Datablades and many more. It is available for a broad range of platforms.


IDS 11.5 port for MAC OS X 10.5


IBM has announced the porting of IDS to the MAC OS X 10.5 (Leopard) operating system. IDS 11.5 the successor of IDS 11.1 is available on the MAC platform:

Read more about this powerful combination here:


New IBM Redbooks covering IDS 11 and 11.5


Brand new Redbooks about IDS Version 11 have been published. The title of the Redbook are IDS V11 - Advanced Functionality for Modern Business and IDS V11 - Extending Availability and Replication. The Redbooks offer an excellent overview about the outstanding technology of IDS V11.


IBM IDS 11 Professional Certification


IBM introduced a new professional certification exam titled IBM Certified System Administrator - IDS V11. This offers database professionals the ability to demonstrate their skills and gain this certification certificate which offers them new opportunities in a growing INFORMIX market.


Ready for Informix Dynamic Server


The Informix Solution Portal lists software companies that provide solutions based on IDS as well as consulting companies and other IBM business partners.


IBM MTK supports Oracle to IDS Migration


The IBM Migration Toolkit contains several enhancements for migrating Oracle databases to IDS. There is no longer a preference for DB2. IBM lifted IDS on the same level as DB2, both a strategic data servers inside IBM's software portfolio.


IDS Roadmap and Business Update 2008/2009

Jerry Keesee - Director of the IBM Informix Lab - discusses the IDS Roadmap and the future plans of IBM regarding the INFORMIX technology in the following presentation:


Analyst Whitepapers/Articles

Carl W. Olofson - IDC top database analyst - discusses the power and flexibility and self-managing capabilities of IDS, that distinguish it significantly from DB2.
David Norfolk - IDC senior analyst development - describes why IDS is an excellent alternative for ISV's seeking an high performance OLTP data server to integrate with their applications:


New Worldwide Informix Sales Team

A new worldwide Informix Sales Team has been established in 2008. This again shows the increasing influence of Informix inside the IBM Information Management Division - Read more about it here...


Informix Virtual Appliance

Amazing news for developers ! The IBM/Informix team has created a virtual appliance based on VMWare and Suse Linux. The appliance allows developers to get familiar with INFORMIX technology and immediately start the development of applications that work with this superior IBM data server.

You can find more information about the IDS Virtual Appliance here:


Website planetIDS.com launched

A new website named planetIDS.com has been launched. planetIDS is a blog aggregator in the tradition of planetMySQL:


Informix achieves highest customer satisfaction

Informix was the top rated vendor regarding customer satisfaction in Q3 2008 and has been selected as the vendor of the year by VendorRate with an exceptional performance in all areas:

And the winner is: IBM Informix Dynamic Server


IBM offers IDS thru Amazon's Cloud Computing Platform


IBM adds Data Warehouse Feature and Compression Technology


Conclusion

It becomes clear that Informix is now an integral part of IBM's software portfolio. IDS is IBM's flagship data server for high end OLTP and integrated solutions. The outstanding Informix architecture and capabilities allows IBM to position IDS in market segments that could never be reached with DB2. More and more software companies realize the power and easiness of the Informix technology and integrate it in their innovative solutions. The future looks bright - IDS is everywhere !

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