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Relational database vendors revamp their products and strategies in an effort to ease
configuration and ensure interoperability
and configuration continue to be the biggest headaches for systems integrators of relational databases, vendors in this highly competitive market are renewing their efforts to simplify the process.
Vendors are continuing to add functionality to upcoming releases of their database engines in on effort to ease endless configuration tasks, said industry watchers. The database leaders also are shoring up their partner initiatives for sharing technology information in order to ensure interoperability.
"Vendors are trying to cram as much as they can into one product so they can keep their database tools attractive, [making it a] `keep up with the Joneses' kind of thing between Oracle [Core.], Microsoft [Core.] and [IBM Corp.'s] DB2," said Steve Vandivier, president and chief executive of integrator Avanco International Inc., McLean, Va.
Database software for the enterprise is an intensely competitive market. While Oracle remains the leader with 1999 revenue of $40.3 million for its relational database products, IBM is hot on its heels in the Unix market, and IBM and Microsoft have gained ground in the Windows NT portion of the business, said analysts at Dataquest, San Jose, Calif.
The research firm recently published market share statistics that also showed IBM's 1999 revenue from its relational database...