Sybase, Inc.

Market position

Sybase was described as the world's second-largest creator of relational database management systems, trailing Oracle, and as one of the ten largest independent software companies in the world. Its Powersoft acquisition was intended to make it the largest provider of client/server development tools.

The company emphasized portability of its RDBMS across hardware platforms and operating systems and a high-performance client/server design for online transaction processing, in contrast with mainframe-centric systems and with competitors focused on narrower platform sets; its use of SQL in the DataServer/DataToolset combination was presented as an advance no other vendor had made at the time.

Technology

Relational database management systems built on Structured Query Language and a client/server architecture that split monolithic applications into components communicating over a network. The original SYBASE system paired the DataServer (concurrent multi-computer database access) with the DataToolset (application development, reporting and query building), and was engineered for portability and scalability across hardware platforms and operating systems, initially DEC, IBM and UNIX-based machines. Later technology included Open Client/Server Interfaces for generic client/server communication, Sybase IQ columnar analytics, Replication Server for real-time data synchronization, and enterprise device management for mobility; after acquisition, ASE continued under SAP with in-memory processing, encryption and cloud deployment support.

Go-to-market

Sybase avoided middlemen and software dealers in its early years, relying on direct sales through a network of U.S. sales offices plus an office in London, and invested heavily in training technical support staff. It also used bundling and co-development partnerships — with Pyramid Technology, Microsoft and Ashton-Tate early on, and later with MicroStrategy, SAP and Verizon — to extend distribution.

Businesses and government organizations requiring enterprise data management, with particular strength among customers needing online transaction processing such as banks, brokerage houses and Wall Street firms, and industries including finance, telecommunications and government; early public-sector customers included NASA, the Army and the Air Force's Military Airlift Command.

Geography

Headquartered successively in Berkeley, Emeryville and Dublin, California, with facilities in California and Massachusetts. International operations included a London sales office, Sybase Canada (formed at the end of 1988), a French subsidiary (1989), a Japanese subsidiary, and a European manufacturing facility in Dublin, Ireland established in 1994.

History

During its development phase Sybase was funded by a consortium of venture capital firms including Hambrecht & Quist and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Early alliances included Pyramid Technology bundling Sybase software with its hardware in September 1987 and Sun Microsystems purchasing 40 copies in October 1987. In 1986 the company began talks with Microsoft to license its data server technology, an arrangement disclosed in January 1988 that led to Ashton-Tate/Microsoft SQL Server 1.0 for OS/2 shipping in May 1989; the joint arrangement ended on April 12, 1994 after Microsoft adapted the shared codebase for Windows NT. Sybase formed Sybase Canada at the end of 1988 and a French subsidiary three months later, considered and postponed a public offering in March 1989, and instead took investment from Lotus Development Corporation, which acquired 15 percent of its stock. The company moved its headquarters from Berkeley to Emeryville, California in 1988, changed its trading name from Systemware to Sybase in May 1991, went public on NASDAQ in August 1991 under the ticker SYBS, opened a European manufacturing facility in Dublin, Ireland in 1994, and later moved its headquarters to Dublin, California (1994–2012). In January 1998 Sybase announced a restatement covering the last three quarters of 1997 after finding accounting irregularities at its Japanese subsidiary; five executives there had used side letters to inflate profits and were fired following a class-action lawsuit. John S. Chen was appointed Chairman, CEO and President in November 1998 and led the company for 15 years. Sybase crossed the $1 billion revenue mark in 2007, partnered with SAP and Verizon in 2009, and was acquired by SAP in 2010.

Risks & controversies

In January 1998 Sybase disclosed accounting inconsistencies in profits reported by its Japanese division and restated results for the last three quarters of 1997; five executives in the Japanese subsidiary were found to have used side letters to artificially inflate profits and were fired following a class-action lawsuit. The 1995 Powersoft integration brought higher costs and management complexity that contributed to later financial pressures, and the company faced competition and internal restructuring over its history.