IBM Corp is planning a massive U-turn on AD/Cycle, and industry sources say the current structure will be completely overhauled. The Repository will be distributed and not DB2-dependent, and commentators say the new-look AD/Cycle may be segmented by environment rather than component. The number of partners will increase to over 20, and some of the current ones will be left out in the cold – dismal news coming so soon after the collapse of Systematica Ltd, an AD/Cycle partner in which IBM UK held a 20% stake. There will be more than one partner per segment, possibly three or four, and there are suggestions that one company will be involved in all segments. US sources say that KnowledgeWare Inc is likely to be culled, but Software One Corp and Cognos Inc will become fully-fledged partners. Both refused to comment. Analysts say that the future of Repository Manager remains uncertain, but Intersolv Inc’s local area network-based repository product offers interesting possibilities. IBM UK declined to comment on speculation, and a US spokesman denies US press reports that there will be major changes in the immediate future.
