Conference ulysse::rdb_vms_competition

Help educate me.  

Aren't there CMP/SCMP/ISV lists/books available to you in the field?  Aren't
those the only products that you should be providing your customers with?  If
you suggest that a customer use a product not in those books, aren't you
implying that Digital 'blesses' those products in some way? 

I don't know the answers to these questions, and I am not suggesting
that you do your job a different way, I am just wondering....

    Dear NOVA::CAMERON,
    
    You are right about selling CMP/SCMP/ISV type of 3rd party product.
    The purpose of compiling the list is to IMPRESS the customer with "If
    you choose Rdb as your company corporate database, you are opening
    the gate to many avaiable software tools....here is the list of
    software products currently in the market, and there will be more
    in the future....." So do you see? Our competitor is mainly ORACLE.
    Make the customer realizing how important is to look at a database which
    there are lots of 3rd party software tools comparing to using ORACLE
    database and their limited tools.
    
    Thank you for your comments.
    
    
    Regards,
    Rosalind Lai

Thanks,  I knew I was missing something.

    Two I know, (and I expect everyone else does too) are
    
    Application Factory from Cortex and
    Focus from Information Builders.
    
    Please do post your list when you've compiled it; I too often have
    a requirement for impressing customers in this way. It seems to
    be something for which Oracle at least doesn't have an answer.
    
    PDB

A "comprehensive" list courtesy of Vicki Farrell - Database Systems Marketing

-------------------------------
Products layered on VAX Rdb/VMS
-------------------------------

This includes products developed and sold by Digital as well as 3rd parties.
Products fall into 2 categories: those that explicitly provide an interface
to VAX Rdb/VMS (i.e. VAX RALLY) and those that offer a particular
functionality and use VAX Rdb/VMS as their file structure (i.e. VAX
CDD/Plus).  In the latter case, the customers are not necessarily cognizant
of VAX Rdb/VMS' presence, nor do they care that a relational database is
being used. 


d - DSRI-level integration
r - callable RDO interface
s - SQL interface

Digital:

d   - VAX TEAMDATA
d   - VAX RALLY
d   - VAX SQL
d   - VAX DATATRIEVE


d   - VAX CDD/Plus
d   - EDCS: Engineering Data Control System
*   - NMCC/DECnet Monitor: network monitor
* interfaces with Rdb through precompiled Pascal programs using rdbpascal. 

3rd party:

r   - Intellect: natural language query			[DCS]
	Artificial Intelligence Corp.

d   - Smartstar: 4GL 					[CMP]
	Signal Technology
	5951 Eucina Rd.
	Goleta, CA. 93117

d   - Powerhouse: 4GL					[CMP]
	Cognos

d   - Focus: 4GL					[CMP]
	Information Builders, Inc.
	1250 Broadway
	New York, NY. 10001

d   - Application Factory: application generator	[?]
	Cortex
	138 Technology Dr.
	Waltham, Ma. 02154

d   - Gemini: application design tool
	UserWare International
	2235 Meyers Ave.
	Escondido, CA. 92025

r   - MULTIPLEX: provides PC access to Rdb data through	[DDS]
      		 row/col/ring menu interface; loads data
		 into spreadsheet, wp, dBASE format
	Network Innovations Corporation
	20863 Stevens Creek Blv.
	Cupertino, CA. 95014
	408-257-6800
				contact: Howie Snyder
					 Ray Riddick
	
?   - NEXPERT/OBJECT: graphic Knowledge Management Tool which integrates 
      proven knowledge representation methodologies with powerful 
      inferencing mechanisms.  Open architecture design allows for 
      integration of Expert systems w/ conventional programs, databases and 
      networks.  User interacts w/ ojects and rules, representing 
      knowledge, through use of color, windows and graphics.  System 
      imitates reasoning behavior.  User can customize reasoning strategies.
      VAXstation version supports direct calls to VAX Rdb/VMS.
							[DDS]
	Neuron Data 
					contact: Roger French 264-8881

?   - PALLETTE: CAD <--> DATABASE system 		[CMP]
	PALETTE SYSTEMS INC.
	Two Burlington Woods Park
	Burlington, MA 01803
	(617) 273-5660
				contact: Leslie Gayne
				      	 dtn 637-3331

?   - PRL3: expert system development tool; interfaces to DBMS, Rdb/VMS, 
  	    RMS, BBN RS/1
	Level Five Research Inc.
	Indiatlantic, Fla.


?   - KIMS - Kodak Information Management System: information storage 
	     and retrieval system using uVAXII, optical disks and microfilm
	Eastman Kodak
	343 State St.
	Rochester, NY. 14650
						contact: Carl Ralston


?   - Teamwork						[CMP]
	performs system requirements and analysis, specification and
	design, and real-time modeling for CASE applications on uVAX II
	and VAXstation II
	
	Cadre Technologies, Inc. 
	222 Richmond St.
	Providence, RI. 02903 
	(401)351-5950.
					contact:John Izuchukwu 297-7402
     This is Cadre's first port of their product to VAX (from Sun,Apollo).
     Intending to develop Ultrix version working w/ UNIFY.

?    - Datatalker : natural language query
               Natural Language Inc.
               1786 Fifth St.
               Berkeley, CA. 94710
               415-841-3500
 

d    - DECFIN: comprehensive financial package developed by Digital 
	       Australia, sold by Digital and Countercorp, supported by
	       Countercorp
						contact: Martin Kenny

?   - APTools: code generator for COBOL, FORTRAN programs w/ embedded
	       VAX Rdb/VMS DML commands
	co. in Israel

FUTURE
------

Digital:

d   - RdbLISP, part of VAX LISP V3.1  
						contact: Bruce Foster
3rd party:

?   - SAS interface product 
	Software Interfaces Inc.
	13831 Northwest Freeway, Suite 355
	Houston, Tx. 77040


?  -  Datatalker: natural language query
	Natural Language Inc.
	1786 Fifth St.
	Berkeley, CA. 94710
	415-841-3500
					contact: Garth Reid

d  -  Natural
	Software AG
	11800 Sunrise Valley Drive
	Reston, Va, 22091
	703-860-5050
Natural 2 is being interfaced to DB2 via SQL.
					contact: Mike Booth


?  - Express: decision support for food and beverage industry
	IRI
It is presently on Prime hardware but is being converted to VAX with Rdb as 
a database system. They have their own 4GL.
The other hot company in this market space is Metaphor. DEC is talking to 
them about conversion (also company acquisition).
					contact: Cliff Conneighton

?  -  Intouch: 4GL
	Touch Technologies
	9990 Mesa Rim Road, Suite 220
	San Diego, Ca 92121
	619-455-7404
    
    					contact: Michael Booth CEDSWS::BOOTH 

    For ther record they are also writing interfaces for DBMS, Adabas,
    System 1032. I got a good look at Intouch the other day. It is amazing!
    RJ Reynolds just bought a corporate license for it as well.
    
    Also, Information Associates, who sells accounting packages in the
    Education market, is also moving toward using Rdb as its database.
    I don't know if either IA or Intouch is DSRI compliant.
    


?  - DECimal/CAA: an interactive, graphical analysis and design tool 
     running on terminals which support the Regis protocol.  Uses Rdb/VMS 
     for project database to store all analysis and design information entered 
     by the user and to extract the information for back-end tools like 
     a CDDL generator (for record/relation definition) and a report generator.
	Hubert Langensteiner - Stefan Frohnhoff - Hans Bachner
	Development Specialists
	DECimal/CAA team
	IS / ADG  Munich, West Germany
    
    For more information on DECimal/CAA please send mail to
    {RTOADA,RTOADC}::PUBCAA or see the notes conference
    {RTOADA,RTOADC}::DECIMAL.
    
    Please note that the node names will change from RTOAD% to UNTAD%
    by end of July.


SQR - Structured Query Report Writer for RDB from
      SQ software , po Box 21171, Cleveland Ohio 44121, 216/397-0551
      in a VAX SQL for RDB/VMS.

      (This product is currently very popular with Oracle d.b. users) 

Desired but not yet planned:

RS1 - statistical analysis package from BBN
						contact: Garth Reid


KEEconnection - links knowledge processing applications with relational 
		databases
	IntelliCorp Inc.
	1975 El Camino Real West
	Mountain View, CA. 94040-2216
	415-956-5500
						contact: Garth Reid


Integral Information Systems.  His home number is 415-849-2182.
They are developing DSRI Rdb/VMS server software and a MacIntosh client
interface to the server.  Their intent is to team up with an established
MacIntosh 4GL software vendor so that the 4GL users on the MAC can
transparently access data in an Rdb/VMS database through the server on the VAX.
They may also sell the server software and MAC call interface to other
companies wishing to use this type of capability in their MAC software
products. 

    Add to that list, the 4GLs:
    
    TODAY -- BBJ Computers
    GemBase -- UserWare
    Coming Soon:
    Ingres Tools for Rdb
    Informix Tools (Informix-4GL in 1/89, the remainder by end of 1989)
    System 1032-EUF (By December, 1988)
    
    Incidentally, I would limit the scope to these application development
    tools. If you wander into vertical applications, Oracle has a a
    huge advantage. It is much better to point out that almost all vertical
    (industry) application packages are built on RMS. But with CDD/Plus,
    it is much simpler to bring the RMS and Rdb applications and data
    under a common control point. Something Oracle cannot do, because
    they must import RMS files into the Oracle RDBMS to access them.
    
    ---- Michael Booth