Sybase reworks data mart

Looking to prop up its sagging revenues, Sybase (SYBS) has shipped its core data mining tools in versions for Microsoft's increasingly popular Windows NT operating system.

Sybase shipped a Windows NT version of its Sybase IQ decision support database, along with a handful of new data replication and management tools.

The company has been shipping Unix versions of Sybase IQ since February of 1996. But an NT version has been slow to materialize.

Sybase IQ accelerates the performance of queries against large decision support and data warehousing databases built atop the company's SQL Server database. With the product, queries run between 10 and 100 times faster than against a standard version of SQL Server, according to Sybase. The software can also help IS managers avoid hardware upgrades, as Sybase IQ can run on existing database servers.

The software is priced at $25,000 per server, plus $395 per user.

Sybase also announced that 12 data warehousing and decision support tool makers have pledged to support Sybase IQ. The list of vendors includes Brio Technology, Cognos, Business Objects, and other makers.

The company announced new Replication Agents, which link Sybase's database to outside data sources, for connecting to mainframe and other databases. Sybase shipped Replication Agents for IMS and VSAM mainframe data sources, Replication Agent for Oracle on NT, and Replication Agent for DB2. Prices start at $3,000.

Also new is a Distribution Agent, which moves data into decision support databases, and a Distribution Director management tool. Pricing was not announced.

After more than a year of miscues, Sybase has posted three consecutive profitable quarters and claims it's on the rebound. However, the company's revenues dipped in the past quarter, leading some analysts to wonder whether the rebound is for real.

Chairman and CEO Mitchell Kertzman said a series of new products, which includes Sybase IQ for Windows NT and the company's new Adaptive Server architecture, are set to ship throughout the remainder of the year and will boost the company's revenues.