Linux: Informix Experiences Widespread Interest In Linux Product Line. Company to Extend "$99 For 99 Days" Pricing Promotion, Expand Marketing and Support Relationship with Red Hat Software - Company Business and Marketing

Edge: Work-Group Computing Report, May 3, 1999

Informix Corporation, the technology leader in enterprise database-powered solutions and award winning Linux vendor, Tuesday announced it has extended the pricing promotion offered for Informix Dynamic Server, Linux Edition Suite for another 99 days. The program was extended due to tremendous interest in Informix's products on Linux. In addition, Informix also announced it is working to expand its relationship with leading Linux distributor Red Hat Software Inc.

Distribution Numbers Soar Informix, the first company to ship a Linux commercial database, has now distributed over 270,000 copies of its database engines on Linux. Products have been distributed to all corners of the globe, with the largest percentage of downloads in Europe and the United States. Distribution numbers have almost doubled since January of this year.

"Interest in our Linux products exceeded our expectations," said Bob Finocchio, chairman, president, and chief executive officer at Informix. "We want the development community to know we share their enthusiasm for Linux. Extending our pricing promotion for Informix Dynamic Server, Linux Edition allows us to reach more developers and encourage more growth in the Linux market."

$99 for 99 Days Promotion Extended Informix extended its "$99 for 99 Days" pricing promotion for the Informix Dynamic Server, Linux Edition Suite due to the tremendous interest in its Linux program and as a way to demonstrate continued commitment to the Linux community. The original promotion, scheduled to conclude at the end of April, will be extended another 99 days, until August 7, 1999. During the promotion, a single user license of Informix Dynamic Server, Linux Edition Suite is available at an unrivaled price of $99.

Expanded Relationship With Red Hat Additionally, fueling its Linux efforts, Informix said it is exploring opportunities to expand its relationship with Red Hat Software in the areas of marketing and support of Informix-based Linux solutions running on Red Hat Linux. The marketing efforts may include co-branded product bundles, joint trade show appearances and advertising as well as cross-promotion on each company's web site. The two companies are also working on expanding joint technical support, to ensure that support engineers at both companies are trained to maintain both Informix and Red Hat products on Linux.

"An expanded relationship with Red Hat will help legitimize Linux as a platform for enterprise computing by giving business users confidence that both companies will work together to market and support Linux solutions," said David Appelbaum, vice president, product management and marketing at Informix. "Companies considering moving their business to Linux, can do so with confidence that they will be supported. If you experience a problem, you can be sure that Red Hat and Informix will work together to solve it."

"Informix and Red Hat have been working together to bring database applications to Linux for some time," said Paul McNamara, vice president, Red Hat Software. "Informix's commitment to Linux helps both Red Hat and Informix promote and support the Linux operating system."

Founded in 1994, Red Hat Software is based in Research Triangle Park, NC, where it is a leader in the development of open source software solutions. Red Hat Development builds the most accessible and advanced operating system available anywhere with technical innovations such as RPM and disk druid installation tool. Red Hat Linux is available for Intel, Compaq Alpha, and Sun SPARC platforms. Red Hat Linux was named InfoWorld's Product of the Year for three years in a row, was given a Productivity accolade in Software Development's "Jolt" Awards, was named an Environment/Desktop finalist in the Ziff-Davis European Excellence Awards, won the editor's choice awards from both the Linux Journal and Australian Personal Computing magazines, and won the "Just Plain Cool" award from Australian Personal Computing magazine. FMI: http://www.redhat.com.

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. FMI: www.informix.com.