Open-Source Plan Buoys Ingres Users

CA's new strategy could give DB a boost, loyalists say

By Matt Hamblen

May 31, 2004 12:00 PM ET

Computerworld - LAS VEGAS -- Users of Computer Associates International Inc.'s Ingres database were energized by last week's announcement that CA plans to release the software under an open-source license and integrate it with technology from JBoss Inc. and other open-source developers.
Ingres has become an also-ran in the database market in the 10 years since CA bought it. But a group of about 20 longtime Ingres users who met during the CA World 2004 conference here said the move to open-source should give the database a higher profile and may help them fight off internal pressure to migrate their systems to Oracle, DB2 or SQL Server.
"I'm tired of being treated like an ugly stepsister and a second-class citizen because I use Ingres," said Tyler McGraw, a database administrator at paper maker Bowater Inc. in Greeneville, S.C. McGraw has used Ingres for 15 years. "Ingres is a good product, and I dig CA's open-source effort. Now I don't have to apologize for my database."
Erica Harzewski, a database administrator at medical device maker Guidant Corp. in Temecula, Calif., said CA's new strategy will make it easier to defend Ingres to her bosses, who want to move to Oracle databases. "Oracle is much more expensive and complex than Ingres," said Harzewski, who has used the software for 13 years. "CA wouldn't put Ingres out for open-source if it was a piece of crap."
The user meeting itself illustrated the plight of Ingres, at least in the U.S. database market. The meeting was held by the North American Ingres User Association, which is seeking new members as it tries to reorganize after two years of inactivity, said NAIUA President Carmen Huff, lead database administrator at Alliance Data Systems Inc. in Dallas.

Tyler McGraw, a database administrator at paper maker Bowater Inc.
Image Credit: Matt Hamblen

"Going open-source is a great idea," Huff said. She noted that although Ingres has fallen off the market-share charts in the U.S., it's still among the most popular databases in Australia and parts of Europe.
CA said Ingres will be released within 90 days under a newly created Trusted Open Source License, which it described as a derivative of the GNU General Public License (GPL). The Ingres announcement was the centerpiece of a wider plan that also includes the addition of open-source document management software to CA's BrightStor line and joint development work with Atlanta-based JBoss and Fredericksburg, Va.-based Zope Inc.
Sam Greenblatt, senior vice president and chief architect in CA's Linux technology group, said the open-source release will expose Ingres to about 100,000 developers associated with JBoss, Zope and the Plone Foundation, a new not-for-profit group focused on the Plone document management software that's being added to BrightStor.
CA's open-source license includes an indemnification feature that goes beyond the GPL and is designed to protect the integrity of Ingres, Greenblatt said. Users will be able to download the database for free but will pay fees for support, maintenance and indemnification, which will provide them with a certificate that lists who developed different pieces of the code. CA will track development and update the certificates as needed.
Dan Kingston, a database administrator at American Digital Systems Inc. in Salt Lake City, said he and his colleagues had started worrying about CA's commitment to Ingres until last week's announcement. "It's an excellent move," Kingston said, "but CA has to be careful how they move it to open-source."
He added that he doesn't want to see software quality compromised by security vulnerabilities and other bugs -- a concern that was echoed by several other users.

Erica Harzewski, a database administrator at medical device maker Guidant Corp.
Image Credit: Matt Hamblen

Recommend Digg Twitter ShareThis

Email Print Send Feedback Reprints

Additional Resources

Xerox

Win a color printer!

By using solid ink technology only from Xerox, you could save up to 65% by printing color for the cost of black and white. Enter for a chance to WIN a PhaserTM 8860 network color printer!

Microsoft

Upgrade to Internet Explorer 8 today.

Save time and mitigate security risk. Deploy it now.

Sybase

NEXT-GENERATION MOBILITY PLATFORMS

In this white paper, IDC analyzes the role of next-generation mobile enterprise platforms as organizations seek a more strategic deployment of mobile solutions.

Learn the important issues you must consider before starting your next mobility initiative. Get your mobility white paper from IDC now, compliments of Sybase.

White Papers & Webcasts

MarketVibe: Communications and Collaboration Needs at Business Organizations
In April 2009, IT and business leaders were invited to participate in a survey on business communications and collaboration solutions. The goal of...

How to Reduce Eclipse BIRT Development Effort for Data Visualizations
Web applications can come with a long list of visualization requirements for structured data. By delivering your output through the BIRT Interactive Viewer,...

The Value of Network and Application Visibility by Aberdeen
This survey-based paper analyzes best practices for improving application visibility and analysis. This paper can help serve as a guideline for organizations looking...

Legacy IT Modernization - Practical Reality
(Source: BluePhoenix) Corporate budgets continue to tighten. Organizations are looking at ways to reduce operating costs and eliminate unnecessary expenses while at the...

The CIO's New Guide to Design of Global IT Infrastructure
Is it possible to eliminate the impact of distance? This paper explores the 5 key principles successful CIOs are using to redesign IT...

Interactive Guide: Getting Started with Data Governance
In this online interactive guide, Andrew White, Research VP with lead analyst firm Gartner, answers these questions to help get you on the...

2007 Gartner Magic Quadrant Report
Riverbed positioned in Leaders Quadrant of Gartner Magic Quadrant for WAN Optimization Controllers. Analyzing strengths vs. cautions, Gartner helps organizations looking to acquire...

Why Now is the Right Time for the Linux Desktop
(Source: Novell) Faced with tighter budgets, enterprises are rethinking their desktop strategies to deliver the same - if not better - services and...

Five Steps to Successful IT Consolidation
Has your Enterprise made the strategic decision to consolidate remote site IT infrastructure into central data centers? Then you have probably discovered that...

Agile Enterprise Content Management (ECM) for Rapid ROI
(Source: IBM) Content rich business processes are a core feature of daily operations at just about any organization today. Very often these essential...

All White Papers | All Webcasts