Are database software makers Informix and Sybase on the verge of a rebirth?
After years of financial turmoil, the two have pieced together a string of profitable quarters and today made acquisitions to further their revival strategies. Sybase bought an Internet financial services company called the Home Financial Network, while Informix snapped up Ardent Software, maker of data warehousing technology that takes information from databases and gives businesses detailed analysis and reports. The pair were once high-flyers in the database arena, but they’ve seen rivals Oracle and IBM capture the bulk of a market that has matured and consolidated in recent years. After some rocky times that included executive turnover and major restructuring, the chief executives from both firms say they’re now on solid footing with revamped strategies targeting e-commerce. Both Sybase and Informix are “increasingly trying to provide the infrastructure for a [complete] solution,” said International Data Corp. analyst Carl Olofson. “For Informix, instead of just providing you with a
After years of financial turmoil, the two have pieced together a string of profitable quarters and today made acquisitions to further their revival strategies. Sybase bought an Internet financial services company called the Home Financial Network, while Informix snapped up Ardent Software, maker of data warehousing technology that takes information from databases and gives businesses detailed analysis and reports. The pair were once high-flyers in the database arena, but they’ve seen rivals Oracle and IBM capture the bulk of a market that has matured and consolidated in recent years. After some rocky times that included executive turnover and major restructuring, the chief executives from both firms say they’re now on solid footing with revamped strategies targeting e-commerce. Both Sybase and Informix are “increasingly trying to provide the infrastructure for a [complete] solution,” said International Data Corp. analyst Carl Olofson. “For Informix, instead of just providing you with a
