Founded in 1980 by Robert Sippl, Informix is one of the nation's largest database management software companies. Its Online Dynamic Server has made the company's fortune, and Informix is a favorite of the manufacturing, retail, telecommunications, and transportation industries, to name a few.

Feeling the industry squeeze

Informix has struggled to maintain its high industry profile in the face of increased competition from other companies and a series of well-publicized employee defections to its rivals. In early 1997, 11 of Informix's top engineers went to work for Oracle, Informix's largest competitor. Adding insult to injury, the 11 speedily issued statements disparaging their former employer for being behind the times and badly managed. Informix responded by suing its former workers.

The Internet solution

In spite of these problems, Informix is still widely considered an industry leader. The company has forged software licensing deals with hardware companies such as Hewlett-Packard and Sequent Computer Systems. In the wake of the rush to the Internet, Informix has begun to emphasize its service end, which now includes e-commerce and web site management solutions. In 1999 the company introduced its i.Sell software suite, which is designed to mine data for firms dealing in e-commerce. Informix made i.Sell Wireless Applications Protocol available on Sun Microsystems' Solaris Operating Environment in 2000, offering an e-commerce platform without the complexity ordinarily associated with wireless customer interactions.

Turmoil amidst profits

In 1998, the company experienced a streak of profitable quarters, and acquired data warehouse firm Red Brick Systems as a subsidiary. Strong sales continued into the next year, when President and CEO Robert J. Finocchio (to whom the turnaround is credited) ceded his post to EVP Jean-Yves Dexmier. Informix acquired Cloudscape Inc, that same year. Also in 1999, in an effort to resolve a shareholder lawsuit alleging insider trading and overstated 1997 revenues, the company paid a $142 million settlement - the largest ever in the industry. Trouble continued to visit Informix as in 2000 the SEC hit the company with administrative sanctions for inflating revenues by $295 million and earnings by $244 million between 1994 and 1997. While fines were not imposed on the company, the incident was one of the biggest securities fraud scandals in Silicon Valley history. That same year IBM brought a lawsuit againt Informix alleging copyright infringement, which the company denies and vows to fight.

Moving on

Informix is attempting to move beyond its early 2000 woes, and has made some progress. The U.S. Department of State launched a new passport system using Informix's Dynamic Server to store and handle data and digitized photographs. The National Foreign Trade Bank of Mexico deployed a new web site based on the i.Sell solution to help Mexican import and export companies conduct business internationally. Informix is also trying to attract small companies to their e-commerce solutions, focusing on internet start-ups.

Ditching Dexmier for Gyenes