Sybase Inc

Source: Technology Digital

Date :1/7/2008 3:57:24 AM

Low-profile Sybase, which focuses on partnerships, has grown steadily and counts many of the world’s leading organizations amongst its list of clientele

Written by Megan Santosus and Produced by Jon Ellingwood

For an enterprise software company that claims many of the world’s largest organizations as its customers, Sybase Inc., is decidedly low profile when compared to IBM Corp., Microsoft Corp., and Oracle Corp., — Its chief competitors in the database management software market. With revenues of $986 million, Sybase is also considerably smaller than its rivals—IBM, Microsoft and Oracle have revenues of $91 billion, $54 billion and $19 billion respectively. Yet Sybase nevertheless has staying power. Founded in 1984, the Dublin, California-based company continues to weather the constant change, consolidation and tumult that characterize the enterprise software industry.

Like many Silicon Valley startups, Sybase began modestly when Mark Hoffman and Bob Epstein founded the company and used Epstein’s house in Berkeley, Calif., as the base of operations. In 1988, Sybase introduced the first client/server relational database designed to make corporate data accessible to the emerging class of knowledge workers. Over the next several years, Sybase continued to introduce technology aimed at supporting and streamlining corporate information management with products such as middleware (software that links disparate applications) and client/server application development tools.

Over the years, Sybase has grown steadily if not spectacularly. Today the company employs slightly more than 4,000 people who work in offices around the world. Sybase counts among its customers 81 companies that are part of the Fortune 100. Major vertical industries include financial services, healthcare and government. According to Sybase, the top 10 global banks and securities firms use Sybase technology to process thousands of financial trades daily in real-time.

Throughout its history, Sybase has acquired and integrated companies with technology that complements its own products and strategy. Two notable acquisitions are AvantGo (acquired in 2003), a provider of mobile enterprise software, and XcelleNet Inc., (acquired in 2004), a maker of systems management software.

Traditionally, Sybase’s products - such as the Adaptive Server Enterprise (a data management platform) Sybase IQ (an analytics server for structured and unstructured data), Data Integration Suite (an out-of-the-box integration technology) and Replication Server (software that enables heterogeneous replication and synchronization) - have focused primarily on aspects of information management. In 2003, Sybase Chairman and CEO John S. Chen launched a new strategy dubbed the “Unwired Enterprise” that adds a focus on information mobility into the mix.

In its quest to be a $1 billion company and to further differentiate itself from rivals, Sybase has set out to extend its focus on information management products to include information mobility products as well. With its “Unwired Enterprise” strategy, Sybase aims to capitalize on four trends shaping the IT industry: The exponential growth of corporate data; ubiquitous wireless access; the proliferation of mobile devices; and the demand for real-time information.

Sybase’s “Unwired Enterprise” strategy is carried out by many initiatives, with products that are grouped and organized into its information management and mobility offerings. The various initiatives and products fall within four main business units.

Core businesses

Data management and integration helps customers leverage existing investments to create secure and reliable infrastructures that can accommodate increased data volume. Products include the Adaptive Server Enterprise database management software and Open Server, a toolkit that enables customers to develop their own server applications.

Analytics allows customers to create a framework in which information is delivered to employees to enable better decisions. The Sybase IQ analytics server is designed to support business intelligence, data warehouse and reporting applications.

Mobile middleware provides the means to deliver information to wherever business transactions occur. The Information Anywhere suite is a secure mobile device software platform that includes email, device management, security, and extends back-office application functionality.

Mobile services provide global enterprises with a way to reach customers and do business in a mobile environment. Sybase 365, a Sybase subsidiary, provides mobile messaging interoperability and content management and distribution services.

Positive performance

In fiscal year 2006, Sybase recorded respectable financial results with total revenues up seven percent, licensing revenues up twelve percent and database revenues up 16 percent. For 2007 and beyond, CEO Chen said Sybase was in a good position to continue its positive momentum due to a revamped product portfolio. Chen also believes that longstanding partnerships with IBM and chipmaker Intel Corp., will enable Sybase to increase its presence on Linux servers, a growing market among corporate IT customers.

In August 2007, Chen offered 1,500 attendees at one of its user conferences a preview of its next-generation mobility architecture designed to streamline the development and deployment of mobile enterprise applications, and thereby advancting its “Unwired Enterprise” strategy further.

“The Unwired Enterprise is already a reality—now we are taking it to the next level, enabling companies to easily develop and deploy mobile applications that extend the reach of business-critical information to users on the front lines,” Chen told the audience. “This new mobility architecture platform is the first solution to empower developers to focus solely on creating great enterprise applications without the worry of becoming an expert on integration for multiple platforms and devices.”

Attracting talent

Like many high-tech companies, Sybase’s success in the future depends on how well it competes in the war for talent. To that end, Sybase built a new headquarters campus in Dublin, somewhat removed from the epicenter of Silicon Valley. (Sybase’s previous headquarters were in Emeryville, Calif.). The campus facilities include all the amenities such as a gourmet cafeteria, onsite preschool, fitness center and park-like setting that are prerequisites for attracting high-tech employees.

Sybase is also paying attention to attracting talent outside its corporate environs. In 2004, the company opened a facility at the University of Waterloo Research and Technology Park in Waterloo, Ontario. The 105,000 square foot facility houses research and development operations for Sybase’s mobility subsidiaries. In addition to state-of-the-art wireless facilities, employees at the Waterloo facility can partake in a game of foosball in one of the game rooms on site.