Informix Announces BEA as New Strategic Partner for Java Middleware Solutions.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS EDITORS)--Dec. 8, 1998--

Informix and BEA partner to deliver end-to-end solution 

for Java deployment

Informix(R) Corporation (Nasdaq: IFMX), the technology leader in enterprise database-powered solutions, today announced a strategic partnership with BEA Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: BEAS), a leading supplier of middleware to the world's largest enterprises, to provide customers with best-in-class Java middleware solutions across the enterprise.

With this solution, customers have the freedom of choice to deploy Java at the optimal location--client, middle tier, or server--depending on business requirements.

The BEA WebLogic application server is the first Java middleware solution that Informix plans to certify with Informix Dynamic Server(tm). The certification process is designed to test and validate the integration of the technologies, so customers can be assured of an optimal end-to-end solution.

"BEA is an outstanding strategic partner for Informix, and this alliance is consistent with our overall strategy of partnering with industry leaders to provide customers with a superior solution," said Bill Hostmann, executive director of middleware at Informix. "We selected BEA as our first Java middleware partner because of their technologic leadership as a Java deployment solutions provider. The combination of Informix and BEA provides customers with a superior end-to-end solution, enabling them to extend their Informix applications to the enterprise using industry standards such as Java Database Connectivity(tm)(JDBC), SQLJ(tm), and Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB)."

"We are pleased that Informix has selected BEA as their first strategic Java middleware partner. The BEA/Informix alliance is designed to enable Informix customers to scale distributed Java applications to the enterprise, with full support for Java industry standards," said Gail Ennis, vice president of worldwide alliances for BEA. "This technology partnership marries the respective strengths of our Java deployment capabilities with those of Informix Dynamic Server, providing customers with a consistent enterprise development and deployment environment for Java that is open, highly scalable, and easy to manage."

Informix Dynamic Server, widely acknowledged for its scalability, robustness, and extensibility, allows customers to manage all of their enterprise content in the database--including video/audio, images, graphics, XML, and business logic. Informix has leveraged the unique extensibility of Dynamic Server to tightly integrate an "on-board" Java environment--with the ability to manage and run Java business logic in the database. Informix Java in the Database is based on Java industry standard interfaces--JDBC and SQLJ--and enables customers to run data-intensive Java business logic in the Informix server for optimal performance, with full support for Java stored procedures and DataBlade(R) modules.

The BEA WebLogic application server is a premier technology for deployment of business-critical EJB applications. BEA WebLogic was the first product to fully implement the EJB 1.0 specification, and provides comprehensive support for the full suite of enterprise Java application programming interfaces (APIs): JDBC, Servlets, Java Server Pages, Remote Method Invocation, Java Transaction Service, and the Java Naming and Directory Interface. The BEA WebLogic application server offers the critical front-end Web component to BEA's end-to-end middleware solution. BEA's products and services (see http://www.beasys.com) enable mission-critical, distributed applications to work seamlessly in client/server, Internet, and legacy environments.

Availability

Informix Dynamic Server version 7.3 is generally available, as is the Informix native JDBC driver, JDBC 1.22. Informix Dynamic Server 7.3 integrates with the BEA WebLogic application server using a standard JDBC interface. A beta version of Informix Java in the database is currently available, with general availability planned with Informix Dynamic Server Version 9.2. This product includes full support for client and server-side JDBC, including JDBC 2.0, and the SQLJ embedded SQL standard.

About BEA

BEA Systems, Inc., is a leading provider of cross-platform middleware solutions for enterprise applications. BEA's products and services enable mission-critical distributed applications to work seamlessly in client/server, Internet, and legacy environments. BEA provides transactional, messaging, and distributed object-based software, as well as an industry-leading Java Web application server, for developing and deploying these enterprise applications. The BEA WebLogic application server, developed and supported by BEA's WebXpress division, offers the critical front-end Web component to BEA's end-to-end enterprise middleware solution. In addition to its broad software product line, BEA provides complete solutions to its customers through its extensive partner network, and a full range of services including consulting, education, and support. BEA is headquartered in San Jose, Calif. and has 50 offices in 24 countries around the globe. The company's common stock trades on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol "BEAS." Additional information on BEA is available on the Internet at http://www.beasys.com.

About Informix

Informix Corporation, based in Menlo Park, California, provides innovative database products that assist the world's major corporations in attaining 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/content management. For more information, contact the sales office nearest you or visit our Web site at http://www.informix.com.

NOTE TO EDITORS: BEA and BEA WebLogic are registered trademarks of BEA Systems, Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the company with which they are associated.

The following are trademarks of Informix Corporation or its affiliates: Informix(R), Dynamic Server(tm), DataBlade(R) and the Informix logo, which is registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.