Ingres, OpenROAD, Enterprise Access and EDBC
Frequently Asked Questions
A Resource for CA Customer Support
November 7, 2005
Q. What did we announce?
A. CA announced a partnership with private equity firm Garnett & Helfrich Capital to transfer CA’s Ingres database business and associate products, including Ingres, OpenROAD, Enterprise Access and EDBC, to an independent entity, Ingres Corporation. More details can be found in the announcement and the press release.
Q. Does this mean CA no longer intends to use Ingres, or no longer have a commitment to Ingres?
A. On the contrary, CA considers Ingres to be a strategic technology and will continue to hold a significant equity stake in Ingres.
Ingres will remain at the hub of CA’s EITM strategy and will continue to be deployed across the CA product range.
Selling a stake in Ingres reflects CA’s realization that while Ingres represents a strategic technology, selling a standalone database product does not fit with CA’s product sales focus. By helping to establish Ingres as an independent, well-financed company whose focus is exclusively on industrial strength databases for mission critical applications, CA would be a principal beneficiary of the focus and continued investment in this core technology.
Q. Will my existing contract with CA be affected?
A. Existing commercial contracts with CA remain unchanged. Customers will continue to pay CA for support until the contract expiration. However, renewals will be made with Ingres Corporation. Regardless of whom the support contract is with, Ingres Corporation will assume all product support and service functions going forward. Ingres Corporation will contract directly with customers after the expiration of their current CA contracts.
Q. Who will provide support now, CA or Ingres Corporation?
A. CA will assure that support is managed seamlessly through the transition to Ingres Corporation. Going forward, the Ingres Corporation will assume all support responsibilities.
Specifically, for existing contracts, all Ingres customers will continue to receive support as they always have. However, this support will be provided by Ingres Corporation on behalf of CA. In most instances, support will be provided by the exact same team of individuals. For issues with CA products that have Ingres embedded in them, CA’s Level 1 support team and the SupportConnect application will provide initial support and resolution. Ingres Corporation will partner with CA to seamlessly provide the Level 2 support capabilities. Upon renewal of the customer’s contract, the customer will transition completely over to Ingres Corporation for engagement and support, with the exception of CA products that have embedded Ingres. They will continue to be supported as described above.
You may also contact support@ingres.com. The general number for Ingres Corporation is (650) 587-5500.
Q. Can I renew my existing contract with CA after it expires?
A. No, all new contracts or support renewals will be with the Ingres Corporation.
Q. What will be the benefit to current customers that use Ingres, OpenROAD, EDBC and Enterprise Access?
A. Their products will be supported by an independent company focused solely on the success of these products. Ingres Corporation will intensify the focus on new development and invest even more heavily in building the finest support and service organization in the industry.
Q. What is in the Ingres Corporation Portfolio? (Products & Services)
A. The CA products moving to the independent Ingres Corporation are Ingres, OpenROAD, Enterprise Access and EDBC. Ingres Corporation will have ownership of all currently supported versions of these products and will continue to support all platforms currently supported by these products.
Q. Will I have to re-negotiate my existing contract?
A. No. There will be no change to existing contracts; CA will stand behind its commitment honoring existing contracts. Ingres Corporation will provide support to customers on behalf of CA.
Q. If I am an existing Ingres Premium Support or Lifeline Support customer, what will be the impact, if any?
A. Premium and Lifeline service contracts will be assigned to Ingres Corporation upon closing of the transaction. Ingres Corporation will provide the services that have been contracted for and customers will pay Ingres Corporation for the support going forward. It is expected that the personnel currently supporting customers will remain unchanged. Renewals of Premium Support, as well as new contracts will also be done with Ingres Corporation.
Q. Will Ingres Corporation continue to develop Ingres, OpenROAD, Enterprise Access and EDBC?
A. Yes, Ingres Corporation has plans to develop these products. As noted in the announcement, Garnett & Helfrich Capital will provide substantial equity funding for Ingres Corporation. With the new capital, Ingres will intensify the focus on new development and invest even more heavily in building the finest service organization in the industry.
Q Will Ingres Corporation move Ingres products back into non-open source?
A. No, Ingres products will remain open source.
Q. Does Ingres Corporation plan to open source OpenROAD, Enterprise Access or EDBC?
A. Over the next few months, Ingres Corporation will review the status of its portfolio of products. For the short-term, OpenROAD, Enterprise Access and EDBC will continue to be offered under existing license terms.
Q. When is OpenROAD r5 scheduled for beta?
A. OpenROAD r5 is currently beta at 20 sites.
Q. Is Enterprise Access 2.6 still available for beta?
A. Advantage Enterprise Access 2.6 is now available for beta testing.
Q. How can I find out more about Ingres Corporation?
A. Additional information can be found at www.ingres.com.