Informix Extends Reach in NT and Unix Space Using New Intel Pentium II Xeon Processor

Business Wire, June 29, 1998

MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 29, 1998--

Intel's New Server Processor Enhances IT Solution Performance for Enterprise Customers

Informix Corporation (NASDAQ:IFMX), the leading provider of innovative database technology, today announced that the introduction of Intel Corporation's Pentium(R) II Xeon(TM) microprocessor will enable Informix(R) to provide enterprise customers with unparalleled performance and scalability in both Windows NT and UNIX environments.

Informix is supporting Intel today at its Pentium II Xeon launch in Santa Clara, CA and is participating in the demo showcase of Intel Pentium II Xeon processor-based solutions running Informix products.

The architecture of the new Pentium II Xeon processor extends NT's scalability and performance, allowing Informix to showcase the inherently powerful architecture of its high-performance UNIX and NT enterprise database solutions. Increased memory support, higher clockspeeds, a faster system bus, increased cache sizes and data-class features for supporting business-critical solutions distinguish the new processor from previous generations.

"Our relationship with Intel has enabled Informix to accelerate key NT development projects to enhance our efforts for optimizing our database engines on the Intel Architecture," said Steve Lambright, senior manager, server product marketing, at Informix. "From front-end to back-office, business-critical enterprise applications, such as data warehousing and OLTP, based on our complete database solution will enjoy significant performance gains with the advent of Intel's new processor specifically designed for higher-end servers and workstations. We look forward to continuing our close relationship with Intel as one of their premier ISVs and are pleased to be a part of their launch of the Intel Pentium II Xeon processor."

The relationship also allows enterprise IT decision-makers to take advantage of the lower total cost of ownership consistently provided by Intel Architecture-based servers and Informix's cost-effective, scalable, and flexible open architecture.

About the Demonstration

Today at the official product launch at Intel's facilities in Santa Clara, Calif., Informix will participate in a showcase demonstrating the new processor's increased power. Informix will present a complete front-end solution, showing the interoperability of its Windows NT applications with UNIX backend database technology. The powerful Informix MetaCube(R) ROLAP Option 4.0 will run on a Pentium II Xeon processor-based workstation with Windows NT accessing Informix Dynamic Server(TM) on a Data General AViiON AV 25000 UNIX NUMA-based server. This demonstration showcases the speed and performance enhancements that the Pentium II Xeon processor brings to business-critical applications, with dramatic improvements in performance and automated administration of data warehouse and data mart environments. The Pentium II Xeon processor-based NUMA system delivers mainframe computing performance at a more cost-effective price.

"The availability of exciting and innovative business solutions for Pentium II Xeon processor-based servers has taken a quantum leap," said Tom Macdonald, marketing director, Intel Enterprise Server Group. "Informix, as demonstrated in the showcase today, is now able to provide more customers with affordable, mission critical solutions by taking advantage of the increased power and scalability delivered by Intel's Pentium II Xeon processors."

Informix plans to take advantage of Intel(R) Extended Server Memory Architecture -- a collection of technologies that allows operating systems and enterprise applications to achieve a fundamental performance benefit and transcend the 4 Gigabyte memory barrier. Intel's Pentium II Xeon processor can provide the first, complete support for this architecture.

About Informix

Informix Corporation, the world's database technology leader based in Menlo Park, Calif., 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 servers, 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, OLTP, Web/content management and distributed enterprise solutions. For more information, visit our Web site at http://www.informix.com.

Note to Editors: (c) 1998 Informix Corporation. All rights reserved. The following are trademarks of Informix Corporation or its affiliates: Informix(R), MetaCube(R) and Informix Dynamic ServerTM.

Pentium is a registered trademark and Xeon is a trademark of Intel Corporation.

    CONTACT: Informix Software, Inc.
              Wendy Barbour, 650/638-3400 x254
              wbarbour@wmc.com