Sybase

Sybase headquarters in Dublin

Sybase Inc. (NYSE: [SY]) is a software company specializing in relational database management systems and database-related products. "Sybase" is also commonly used to refer to Adaptive Server Enterprise, the company's flagship relational database system. Sybase's original architects were Dr. Robert Epstein and Tom Haggin who both had worked at Briton-Lee and the University of California, Berkeley Department of Computer Sciences . Developed at UC Berkeley was the pioneering "University Ingres" relational databases system that led to Briton-Lee, Sybase, Ingres (Computer Associates) Informix (IBM) and NonStop SQL (Tandem), as well as the majority of other SQL systems currently in use.

Sybase became the number 2 database system behind Oracle, after making a deal with Microsoft to share the source code for Microsoft to remarket on the OS/2 platform as "SQL Server". At the time, Sybase called the database server "Sybase SQL Server". Until version 4.9, Sybase and Microsoft SQL server were virtually identical. Due to disagreements between the two companies over revenue sharing (or lack of), Sybase and Microsoft decided to split the code-lines and went their own way, although the shared heritage is very evident in the Transact-SQL (TSQL) procedural language as well as the basic process architecture. The big difference is that Sybase has a Unix heritage, while Microsoft sprung from that original Unix architecture and was adapted and optimized only for the Microsoft Windows NT operating system. Sybase continues to offer versions for Windows, several flavors of Unix, and for Linux.

Sybase suffered a major downturn in fortune in the latter half of the 1990s when Informix started outselling it by a wide margin. In November of 2005, a book written by a long time Informix employee was released that chronicled the battle between Sybase and Informix. Today Informix is no longer an independent company (having been bought by IBM). As judged by revenue, IBM has taken the lead in the overall database market with Oracle a close second. The #3 position is occupied by Sybase's own offspring, Microsoft SQL Server. Today Sybase is well behind its major competitors in the enterprise database market, with 3% market share(InformationWeek March 05). Sybase has recently returned to profitability under the management of John Chen, and continues to reinvent itself with a new 'Unwired Enterprise' strategy. The 'Unwired Enterprise' vision is about allowing companies to deliver data to mobile devices in the field as well as traditional desktops, and combines technology from Sybase's existing data management products with its new mobility products. Sybase has expanded into the mobile and wireless space through buyouts of smaller networking and wireless companies, such as AvantGo, and expansion into the Asian market, specifically China. Through its mobility subsidiary, launched in 2000, iAnywhere Solutions, Sybase has become the leader of the mobile database market with SQL Anywhere Studio.

Sybase makes a number of other data management products including Sybase IQ, a data warehouse system, Powerbuilder a client-server and n-tier application development system, m-Business Server, a mobile applications system based on the AvantGo service, and Replication Server, a vendor-neutral data movement system. Sybase has a strong presence in the Healthcare and Financial verticals.

Products

Sybase products include:

Sybase SQL Server
Adaptive Server Enterprise, the traditional RDBMS
Adaptive Server Anywhere, another traditional RDBMS
Sybase IQ, a data warehousing database
Replication Server, a tool for data replication between heterogeneous systems
Avaki Enterprise Information Integration (EII)
Unwired Orchestrator, a business process management solution that uses Messaging Queues
PowerBuilder
PocketBuilder, a development tool for handheld mobile devices running PocketPC
DataWindow .NET, a component that brings the power of the DataWindow to the Microsoft_.NET framework
Afaria, a remote device management solution
Answers Anywhere, a natural language processing system
[EAServer], a Java EE compliant application server
Sybase Enterprise Portal, enterprise information portal
Industry Warehouse Studio
PowerDesigner, a data modeling/UML modeling/business process modeling and XML modeling tool
Pylon, a PIM and email synchronization tool with Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Notes back-ends
[RFID Anywhere solutions], a tool manage RFID hardware and integrate RFID data with enterprise systems
SQL Anywhere Studio, a set of tools for data management for Small and Medium Business and mobile devices (includes previously mentioned Adaptive Server Anywhere as DBMS)
Unwired Accelerator, middleware that allows enterprise data to be extended to mobile devices

External links

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