Informix Sets Up 100% Subsidiary

Informix Software, the $727 million global software major, has set up a 100 per cent subsidiary in India called Informix Software India Pvt Ltd (ISPL). The subsidiary will handle marketing operations which were being routed through its branch office.

The move is a part of the new India thrust for the corporation which is facing dipping profitability. Worldwide turnover had to be restated to $727 million from the earlier estimated $939.3 million.

Speaking about plans for the Indian subsidiary, Kishore Kaishete, country head, said Informix planned to invest $5 million in the next couple of years. Further, ISIPL would maintain and support, including language support, the latest Informix products for the entire Asia-Pacific region. Kaishete said they have completely revamped their marketing strategy by splitting it into direct and indirect sales.

The direct sales team would target the top hundred firms. The next thousand would be targetted through their tie-ups, namely Hexaware and NIIT.

Further, a vertical division focussed the marketing team to three sections - telecom, manufacturing and finance.

ISPL has set up an India Development Centre in co-ordination with ICIM, which will be inaugurated by mid-1998 at an estimated cost of $ 5 million.

In the last eighteen months, Kaishete said Informix had bagged several contracts despite a flat market. In the financial sector, the company is working with IDBI, and is setting up a website for NSE. In the telecom sector, Informix is working with Reliance and Modi Telstra, and in the manufacturing sector, they are working with L&T and Telco on ERP.

Informix specialises in database technology, and provide database solutions worldwide for various sectors. They have developed partnerships with information technology providers whose products and services complement its database technology.