Good News: Worldwide Reach by IFMX !
Informix Announces Key Customer Wins in Fourth Quarter; Leading Companies and Government Entities in Key Markets Around the World Respond to Informix's Technology Strategy
Business Wire - January 27, 1999 16:46
MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 27, 1999--Informix(R) Corporation (NASDAQ: IFMX), the technology leader in enterprise database-powered solutions, today announced continued progress in the marketplace during the fourth quarter of 1998 by signing contracts with major customers worldwide.
Among Informix's fourth quarter wins are significant contracts with leading U.S. and global corporations, including American Automobile Association (one of the largest membership organizations in the world); Bebe Stores, Inc. (a major clothing retailer); British Telecom Mobile; Barmenia Krankenversicherungs (one of the largest insurance companies in Germany); Buro de Credito (Mexico's largest database of consumer credit information); China Pacific Insurance (the second-largest insurance company in China); CKE Restaurants, Inc. (Carl's Jr. Restaurants); Coop Obrera (the leading retailer in southern Argentina); County of San Bernadino; Dayton Hudson Corporation (Target Stores); Domtar Inc. (paper mills); the French Ministry of Education; Furman Selz (prime brokerage services); Lockheed Martin Federal Systems; Nationsbanc Montgomery Securities, Inc.; Orange Personal Communications Services (a leading UK cell phone network operator); Purolator Courier (Canada's leading overnight courier company); the San Francisco Giants; the Spanish Central Police Department; Sony Corporation; Titan (one of Mexico's leading manufacturers and distributors of cardboard packaging materials); Votorantim Mineracao e Metalurgia Votorantim (Brazil's largest private-sector conglomerate); the United States Internal Revenue Service; West Interactive Teleservices (a leading provider of interactive voice response systems).
"This partial list of customers around the world, many of them recognized as leaders in their respective fields, is solid evidence that Informix continues to attract the business of customers that demand the best technology for their database solutions," said Jean-Yves Dexmier, executive vice president, field operations at Informix. "Our strategy of providing best-of-breed solutions in the key areas of data warehousing, Web and e-commerce, and high-performance OLTP, coupled with expert consulting and integration services, continues to resonate worldwide in critical market segments -- particularly telecommunications, retail, finance, and government. We thank existing customers for their continued support and welcome our new customers to the high-performance world of Informix."
NORTH AMERICA
AAA(www.aaa.com)
American Automobile Association (AAA) is one of the largest membership organizations in the world with over 41 million members. Widely known for its emergency road service and trip planning, AAA is also one of the largest travel agency organizations in the United States. AAA recently renewed its long-standing commitment to Informix technology with the purchase of additional licenses of Informix Dynamic Server(R) as well as GIS (graphical information system) DataBlade(R) modules. AAA's emergency road service system consists of call center management, GIS look-up of emergency road service providers, membership info, and automated billing. The system is Informix-based and is presently being rolled out across the USA to various AAA/CAA clubs at the rate of about one per month. "AAA's reputation is that it offers a totally dependable and timely service to our members," said Kent Taylor, director of information management. "Some of our call centers receive thousands of calls per day and, during adverse weather conditions, experience extremely dense peak periods of call activity. We have found Informix to provide consistently top-notch uptime and OLTP performance for the various critical systems running on Informix Dynamic Server."
Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Washington, D.C.
The IRS is consolidating a number of regional employee and human resources databases. Informix Dynamic Server was selected as the new, centralized database, and will house information for a custom human resources application known as Totally Automated Personnel System (TAPS). TAPS (which was written using INFORMIX-4GL and Informix SQL) enables the IRS to keep track of employees' grade levels, work history, incentive planning, and time spent on particular projects. The new system supports two thousand simultaneous users and contains information on more than 100,000 employees and will run on a Sun Enterprise(TM) 10000 64-processor server.
Purolator Courier Ltd., Canada (www.purolator.com)
Purolator is Canada's leading overnight courier company. It operates the largest dedicated fleet of cargo aircraft in the country and boasts an extensive distribution network that features over 170 shipping centers, 600+ drop boxes, 81 regional terminals, 4 regional hubs and a central sorting facility in Toronto. Purolator selected Informix as the nerve center for a complete replacement of all critical operational systems, previously running on legacy mainframe systems. The project involved transforming 14 major applications containing three million lines of code along with eleven databases -- all are now running in a UNIX open systems environment on Informix Dynamic Server. "After consideration of various alternatives, we decided that Informix was the best technology for our enterprise database," said Jim McGill, CFO of Purolator. "Informix offered us the best combination of performance and scalability, and all new operational systems will run on Informix Dynamic Server."
West Interactive Teleservices (www.west.com)
West Interactive Teleservices is the interactive voice response division of West TeleServices Corporation, a leading provider of outsourced, fully integrated, customized teleservices solutions. West Interactive has more than 10,000 voice response ports that are used to handle a number of diverse applications including bank card activation, prepaid phone card, automated backup of customer service systems, survey and information gathering, front-end automated customer service and lead generation. West Teleservices purchased additional licenses of Informix Dynamic Server to power these mission-critical OLTP applications. "West Teleservices aims to provide our clients with 24x7x365 uptime and sub-second response times on database look-ups," said Craig Webster, the company's vice president of systems development. "Our Informix system is meeting and exceeding the demands we place on it, and will provide the foundation for our future plans for expansion."
EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA
Orange Personal Communications Services Ltd. (www.plc.orange.net/group.html)
Orange Personal Communications Services is principally involved with the design, construction and operation of a national digital wirefree personal communications network for the UK and the provision of digital telecommunications services. Informix secured a significant contract from Orange Personal Communications Services for enterprisewide systems, including data warehousing. The technology will be deployed in support of Orange's objectives to deliver unrivaled customer satisfaction while being first to market and a recognized innovator in the mobile communications market.
In the UK we also closed a number of other significant orders in the fourth quarter of 1998, underpinning the strength of the company in the market and reinforcing its position in the fast-growing data warehousing and e-commerce markets. Notable among these orders were the following:
-- BT Mobile is supporting its business expansion with an extension of its existing Informix contract. The system will be used to track its cell phone orders; -- Cunningham Ellis & Buckle, the largest loss adjusters in the UK, has expanded their core administration systems with a further investment in Informix technology; -- PA Sporting Life has placed an order for Informix technology to implement web-based systems; and -- In the transaction processing market, Oliver Ashworth Group plc, which is one of the largest pipe distributors in the UK, signed a significant contract. It is upgrading its ERP system for sales, distribution and finance.
Barmenia Krankenversicherungs a.G., Germany
Barmenia Krankenversicherungs is one of the largest insurance companies in Germany and specializes in health and life insurance. The company purchased Informix Dynamic Server to offer OLTP functionality that provides more than 350 users in regional management centers with instant access to customer information.
Direccion General de la Policia, Spain
The Spanish Central Police Department has scheduled the Police Computer Information System as a priority action item in the Global Objectives Plan defined in the "Policia 2000" project. Recently, the department initiated the first phase of large-scale migration to an Informix-based computer system. The new system will consist of a central Informix Dynamic Server with an array of Informix Dynamic Server, Workgroup Edition(TM) servers distributed in regional police stations. In addition, Informix Dynamic Server with Universal Data Option(TM) and Web Integration Option(TM) will be used to build a common repository to track unresolved and resolved computer problems and to provide liaison with the International Cooperation Unit. A future phase of the project will implement the ESRI(R) GeoSpatial DataBlade module to provide evacuation and safety plans for public buildings and major events and conferences, as well as to analyze geographic crime patterns. "Our choice of Informix was predicated by the need to pursue an open systems approach while providing us with maximum extensibility," said Mauricio Pastor, IT Director, Central Police Department of Spain.
Ministry of Education, France
The French Ministry of Education, which is responsible for primary and secondary school systems as well as higher education, has selected Informix technology as the cornerstone of a program to re-architect its national computer systems. The project, known as OCEAN will involve 4,000 administrators in 30 school districts and will feature an Informix-based system to manage all examinations, including the baccalaureat (France's final examination that determines eligibility for university entrance). "Our decision to award Informix this contract reflects our continued confidence in the company's ability to deliver cutting-edge technology," said Mr. Affre, chief technology architect. Future plans under discussion between the Ministry and Informix include systems to implement decision support and Web access.
ASIA-PACIFIC
China Pacific Insurance Co., Ltd. (CPIC)
CPIC is the second-largest insurance company in China, offering life insurance and property insurance to China's enormous population. CPIC is using Informix Dynamic Server as their central database server, along with various Informix development tools to write custom applications. Already, CPIC has accomplished several major projects including a life insurance processing system, a property insurance processing system and a financial processing system. CPIC also plan to use Informix technology to develop a data warehouse application and to provide Web access to the database. "China's insurance market is experiencing intense competition, requiring CPIC to carefully weigh price-performance as a key criterion in the selection of a database," said Mr. Xiao Jian Yi, Director of the Computer Center of China Pacific Insurance Co., Ltd. "We chose Informix based on their in-depth understanding of the development of advanced and sophisticated applications, and because we felt they were the best partner to further our business goals and attain technical competence."
Sony Corporation
Sony Communication Network Corporation (SCN), is one of the Sony Corporation group of companies. SCN owns the So-Net service, the most ubiquitous home Internet service provider in Japan. SCN purchased Informix Dynamic Server with Universal Data Option and the Web DataBlade module to enhance and accelerate the So-Net Web site. The new Informix-based system, which will go live in March 1999, replaces the former flat-file database, and was selected because of Informix's ability to manage vast quantities of rich media. In addition, the new system provides faster production time for So-Net Web pages, as well as simplified updating of information.
Also of note is that another Sony Corporation company, Sony Information Technology Company (Sony IT Company), migrated to the latest Informix technology. Sony IT Company is principally involved in the design and manufacture of the computer displays, personal computers and computer peripherals that comprise the Sony "VAIO" (Video Audio Integrated Operation) brand of personal computers. Sony IT Company will use Informix Dynamic Server with Universal Data Option and the Web DataBlade module as the database for over 100 VAIO systems engineers who design and produce electronic circuit boards.
LATIN AMERICA
Buro de Credito, Mexico
Buro de Credito operates Mexico's largest database of consumer credit information, providing companies and organizations that offer credit with ratings to support their business decisions. "The Buro de Credito assists our clients in minimizing credit risk, and therefore requires a solid database infrastructure in order to operate at the highest levels of availability, security and performance," said Alberto Palacio, systems director at Buro de Credito. "Informix offers these characteristics and we therefore decided to use this database platform to store our information and thus to be able to provide this valuable service."
Cooperativa Obrera De Bahia Blanca (Coop Obrera), Argentina
Coop Obrera is the leading retailer in southern Argentina, with 42 stores. Coop Obrera purchased Informix Dynamic Server and INFORMIX- ESQL/C to provide online transaction processing functionality for its order processing, purchasing and accounting departments. "Our decision to go with Informix for these critical functions was driven by Informix's extensive experience in the retail sector, its ability to offer an integrated solution, and its excellent consulting and training services," said Victor Airola, system manager at Coop Obrera.
Grupo Industrial Durango (Empaques Titan), Mexico
Titan is one of Mexico's leading manufacturers and distributors of cardboard packaging materials. Confronted with the need to dramatically overhaul its information systems to provide better integration and more timely information, Titan conducted a rigorous analysis of various ERP/DBMS combinations and concluded that Informix Dynamic Server met and surpassed its requirements. Commenting on the selection of Informix, Rene Alfaro, Titan's CIO stated, "Our decision to award this contract to Informix included an assessment of which database had the largest market share on SAP, the most successful implementations, and the best price/performance ratio. As a result of the analysis, TITAN chose Informix. A further reason for choosing Informix is the company's excellent technical support."
Votorantim Mineracao e Metalurgia Votorantim (VMM), Brazil
VMM is Brazil's largest private-sector conglomerate, with annual sales in excess of US$4 billion. The Group comprises more than 60 companies operating in 28 different industries, including cement, pulp and paper, metallurgy, agribusiness (orange juice), chemicals, financial services and electricity. VMM purchased Informix Dynamic Server with Universal Data Option, and signed a contract with Informix Professional Services Organization to implement an ambitious Web-based data warehousing project to consolidate and distribute sales, profitability, contract and payment information from three different locations. This project will ultimately be extended to other companies of the Votorantim Group. "We chose Informix from among several players due to its technological leadership and proven expertise in data warehousing consulting. Other vendors simply did not demonstrate that they understood our unique business requirements. Informix is providing our sales management team with a fast, efficient and user-friendly solution," said Robson Alves de Camargo, Technology Consultant at VMM.
About Informix
Informix Corporation, based in Menlo Park, California, provides innovative database products that assist the world's major corporations to attain competitive advantage. Informix is widely recognized as the technology leader for corporate computing environments ranging from small workgroups to very large parallel processing applications. Informix's database server, application development tools, superior customer service, and strong partnerships enable the company to be at the forefront of major information technology solution areas including data warehousing, high performance OLTP, and Web/E-Commerce. For more information, contact the sales office nearest you or visit our Web site at informix.com.
The following are trademarks of Informix Corporation or its affiliates, one or more which may be registered in the U.S. and other jurisdictions: Informix(R), Informix Dynamic Server(R), DataBlade(R), Informix Dynamic Server Universal Data Option(TM), Web Integration Option(TM), Advanced Decision Support Option(TM), MetaCube(R) ROLAP Option, and Informix Dynamic Server, Workgroup Edition(TM).
Note: Informix news releases are available at no charge through Business Wire's NewsOnDemand fax service. To immediately receive an index of available releases, call 800/356-0851.
CONTACT: Informix Corporation
Editorial Contact:
Christina Dort
(650) 926-1046
cdort@informix.com
or
Financial Analysts:
Kate Patterson
(650) 926-6809
katep@informix.com
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