IBM Tightens ANTs Ties--Or Does It?
According to an ANTs press release posted Tuesday morning, IBM signed a global pact to resell the ANTs Data Server to its customers. The release contained quotes from ANTs CEO Joe Kozak, but none from IBM. It likewise went out over ANTs PR contact names, but no IBM contacts.
Later on Tuesday, an IBM spokesman told CRN that there is no global reselling agreement. Indeed no global pact of any time between the computing giant and ANTs.
"IBM has worked with ANTS where it makes sense just like with our other partners but we do not have a global agreement in place with them, " said an IBM spokesman.
The ANTs Data Server is a realtime database that competes with such offerings as TimesTen, now part of Oracle.
From the posted release, it was unclear whether IBM channel partners also can resell the ANTs product. An ANTs spokesman subsequently said IBM, but not its partners, could resell ANTs. At that time IBM declined to comment.
ANTS and IBM already have collaborated on some big-time deals. In late October, just after Oracle OpenWorld, IBM and ANTs trumpeted news of a big, joint Raytheon/U.S. Navy deal. That fueled speculation that IBM might buy ANTs to add its realtime expertise to its own database portfolio.
The ANTs-IBM relationship is already something of a family affair. Database star Don Haderle, a former IBM Fellow, joined Burlingame, Calif.-based ANTs. Also, ANTs CEO Joseph Kozak and vice president of engineering Rao Yendluri all did time at IBM.
In other database news, Microsoft said Monday it has released SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition to manufacturing.
The product, once slated to be called the SQL Server 2005 Everywhere Edition, is for embedding into developers' applications.
This story was updated Tuesday afternoon with IBM's denials. Stay tuned.