IBM's DB2 Universal Database Powers E-Business and Advanced Decision-Making

Business Wire, Sept 16, 1997

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 16, 1997--

Oracle, Informix and Sybase Customers Explore DB2

IBM this month will begin shipments of the new DB2(a) Universal Database, a next-generation data management system that links corporate information -- such as videos, sales forms, digital images, text and spreadsheets -- to the Web, enabling companies to conduct e-business.

DB2 Universal Database also supports applications that quickly perform in-depth analysis of information. Called business intelligence, these solutions allow users to make better business decisions and gain competitive advantages.

With the industry's first fully scalable, Web-ready database management system, users can:

-- access any amount of data without the traditional restraints

on source and location;

-- perform a range of tasks, from decision support to business

transactions;

-- work with text, image, audio and video data types;

-- start managing data quickly and easily;

-- run the same software across desktops, workgroups and

enterprises.

Using DB2 Universal Database, a retail store can reach a global marketplace, without the cost of acquiring and managing new franchises, by creating an application to sell merchandise on-line. A start-up company can begin small and expand to thousands of employees without investing in new data technology. DB2 Universal Database can support growth, through the addition of new applications or users, without affecting performance.

Aetna U.S. Quality Algorithms, American Management Systems, Dickens Data Systems, Experian, Fingerhut Companies, Inc., Formida Software, Los Alamos National Laboratories, Northeastern University, Sapient Health Network, Vision Associates and Yamaha Corporation of America are just a few of the customers gaining competitive advantages, reaching larger audiences and deriving added business value from DB2 Universal Database.

"Dickens' customer care software, SCM, provides technical support for large and small companies across many industries. A database that works on both ends of the spectrum is important because it helps us meet customer needs," said Jeff Longoria, senior vice president, marketing, Dickens Data Systems. "DB2 Universal Database scales from the high-end to the low-end, keeping us in tune with our current customers. It is also allowing us to enter an untapped market -- support for mid-sized companies."

"A database is the engine to run your business. It needs to be fast, powerful, accurate and reliable so your company can be the same," said Janet Perna, general manager, data management, IBM Software Solutions. "DB2 Universal Database is all of these things with the additional benefits of e-business and business intelligence support. Our data management solutions, powered by DB2, will allow customers to blow past their competition."

Oracle, Sybase and Informix Customers Explore DB2

IBM also announced a toolkit and related services to convert Oracle databases and applications to IBM's DB2 data management family. Existing systems transferred to IBM will gain business value while maximizing existing technology investments.

Fingerhut Companies, Inc., the $2 billion database marketing company based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, recently decided to migrate to DB2 Universal Database, running on IBM's AIX(a) and RS/6000(a) platforms.

"Fingerhut is looking to build a multi-terabyte, online, centralized relationship database. Our goal is to take service to a new level by improving target marketing to our customers," said Tom Bozlinski, senior vice president of information services, Fingerhut. "DB2 Universal Database will give us the flexibility and scalability we require to continue growing our business."

The toolkit, the SQL Conversion Workbench(b), and services are being enhanced to support Oracle migrations by IBM business partner and BESTeam(a) member ManTech Systems Solutions Corporation (ManTech), based in Fairfax, Virginia. Earlier this year, ManTech announced a toolkit and training program for converting Informix and Sybase databases to DB2.

Sapient Health Network, an online source of medical information and referrals for individuals headquartered in Portland, Oregon, recently began migrating its database system to DB2 Universal Database.

"Sapient started working with Informix's Illustra database because of its advanced features. These features slowed the system to the point of being practically unusable," said John Tornblad, database director, Sapient Health Network. "By converting to DB2 Universal Database, we are getting even more functions -- multimedia support plus scalability and manageability -- and a system that works quickly and easily to meet our needs."

Business Partners

Momentum for DB2 Universal Database continues to build across industries. More than 600 independent software vendors are porting their software applications to DB2 Universal Database. In addition, 3,500 business partners and value-added resellers are working with the newest member of the DB2 family. Support from these key industry partners ensures that users of DB2 Universal Database will have the tools and applications needed to run their businesses.