ALARIS Medical Standardizes on Informix; Informix-Powered
Enterprise Resource Planning and Data Warehouse System
Enhances Decision-Making and Reduces Administration Costs
ACTION ITEMS
Informix Corporation, a technology leader in enterprise database-powered solutions, has announced that ALARIS Medical, Inc. has selected and implemented Informix Dynamic Server as the foundation for critical corporate sales, customer order, distribution and finance management information applications.
The Informix database is the backbone of the company's SAP enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and provides an extensive data warehouse, giving ALARIS employees cost-effective, instant access to business information.
ALARIS Medical is one of the largest infusion therapy companies in the world with 1998 revenues of $380 million. The company was formed as a result of the November 1996 merger of two prominent infusion device companies, IMED and IVAC.
Since implementing Informix Dynamic Server, ALARIS Medical has experienced better than expected performance from their SAP ERP system. Monthly load times for sales data have decreased from 20 hours to two hours, database administrative tasks have been dramatically reduced, and database queries are now so fast that the company has switched from batch processing them to online requests -- enabling business managers to ask more relevant, educated questions and to make faster, more informed decisions. The new database system runs on IBM RS/6000 servers.
ALARIS Medical's move to Informix was driven by a number of factors. Foremost of these was the need to transition from several high-maintenance, mainframe-based legacy systems to a more standards-based, open-systems approach that would enable the company to quickly assimilate and integrate systems from its acquisitions while containing administrative costs. In addition, the company needed to conform to internal Year 2000 specifications as well as government-mandated record-keeping requirements.
"Our overarching objective was to unify various legacy applications within a modern database technology that would provide better access to our corporate data and a platform for future expansion," said Tom Murray, director of information technology at ALARIS Medical.
"The project began in 1997, when we switched our sales information data warehouse from another database vendor's technology to Informix Dynamic Server. We were happy with the result and subsequently moved our mainframe-based finance applications to Informix. Soon after that, we moved our manufacturing, order entry and sales systems across to Informix."
The most recent phase of the project was to implement a global SAP ERP system to provide operating divisions with better reporting tools and improved access to information.
"Providing superior service capabilities and product leadership is paramount to our ongoing success," continued Murray. "As we continue to grow our core business domestically and internationally, our biggest challenge is to continue to find innovative ways to ensure our customers' satisfaction. Time to market and cost reduction are critical success factors in this regard. Our research revealed that Informix's technology was a superior solution for SAP, and offers us Web and e-commerce functionality as we expand in these areas. We also found that Informix believes in forming partnerships with its customers, and we have been impressed with the customer service Informix has provided."
"Informix occupies a prominent position in the healthcare industry because of its focused technology strength, extensive experience with healthcare companies, and strong alliances with key healthcare IT vendors," said Diane Fraiman, vice president of marketing at Informix.
"A key criterion for many of our customers is the extensibility of Informix Dynamic Server. This extensibility enables a company to invest in Informix as the cornerstone for essential business functions, and to subsequently augment the database's capabilities to encompass Web, e-commerce, and data mining."
About ALARIS Medical
ALARIS Medical, Inc., through its operating company, ALARIS Medical Systems, Inc., is known for its IMED and IVAC brand names of intravenous infusion therapy systems and Instromedix cardiac event recorders and pacemaker follow-up systems. The company's principal line of business is the design, manufacture and marketing of intravenous infusion therapy products, patient monitoring instruments and related disposables.
The company's products are distributed to more than 120 countries worldwide. In addition to its San Diego world headquarters and manufacturing facility, the company also operates manufacturing facilities in Creedmoor, N.C.; Hillsboro, Ore.; Basingstoke, Hampshire, UK; and Tijuana, Mexico. Additional information on ALARIS Medical can be found at http://www.alarismed.com.
About Informix
Informix Corporation, based in Menlo Park, provides innovative database products that assist the world's major corporations to attain competitive advantage. Informix is widely recognized as the technology leader for corporate computing environments ranging from small workgroups to very large parallel processing applications.
Informix's database server, application development tools, superior customer service, and strong partnerships enable the company to be at the forefront of major information technology solution areas including data warehousing, high performance OLTP, and Web/e-commerce. For more information, contact the sales office nearest you or visit our Web site at http://www.informix.com.