By Rik Turner
German database software developer Software AG plans to announce a deal to bundle its Tamino native XML database on NT servers from a leading US manufacturer before the end of this year, according to CEO Erwin Koenigs.
The announcement will be part of the Darmstadt-based companyÆs repositioning in the US in the wake of the redefinition of its relationship with erstwhile distributor for that market, Reston, Virginia-based SAGA Software Inc (CI No 3,770) at the beginning of October. With SAGA out of the picture for the US marketing of its former parentÆs new line of products (Tamino, Bolero business application development environment and, from next June, e-business application integrator EntireX), Software AG needs to rapidly build a sales and marketing presence in the US. This needs to be sooner rather than later, furthermore, if it is to exploit what IDC reckons to be a 12-18-month advantage over competing database vendors in terms of XML offerings.
Therefore a bundling of Tamino, which currently exists only in an NT version, will be a fundamental part in speeding time to market in the US, as well as elsewhere in the world. Koenigs added that a version of Tamino supporting all major flavors of Unix will be unveiled at the CeBIT fair in Hanover, Germany, in February next year, and the deal with the US server manufacturer could extend into the Unix market.
Software AG says it will position Tamino as an XML ‘server’ rather than as a database, and is touting its ability to deliver applications from legacy databases, ready for publishing to the web or across corporate intranets. The line is that XML is the representation language of choice for the e-business-to-business (eBtoB) marketplace. As such, the bundling project, for which final negotiations with the hardware vendor are still underway, mirrors OracleÆs Raw Iron initiative, in which it is bundling its 8i database on Unix boxes from Hewlett-Packard Co and Sun Microsystems Inc.
Not that the bundling agreement will be Software AGÆs sole route to market in the US. Koenigs said acquisitions in the States can be expected as well as partnerships, the search for which, he said, motivated the recent establishment of an office in Silicon Valley under long-term US resident Alf Goebel. Koenigs said he hopes to be able to announce at least one US acquisition before the end of this year.
