Alan Robinson has left Informix Software, where he was managing director, to set up the Australian operation of US company Vitria Technology, which has developed an e-business platform sufficiently good to have won Australian contracts with some big companies like BP and Telstra. Robinson said potential clients include any organisation that wants to get its house in order prior to engaging in business-to-business commerce. "If the analysts are right, this is a market area that is going to boom over the next few years," he added.
Robinson said he intends to spend some time establishing local relationships with partners such as PricewaterhouseCoopers, Accenture, Deloitte & Touche, and KPMG. "System integrators and consultants are often the first people to identify a need for changes to their clients' business processes," he explained. "Therefore they play a major role in our business."
Back at Informix, Robinson has been replaced by general manager Mike McKee, who has been with the company since 1990. In the mid-1990s he became manager of business alliances, and most recently was also manager of the company's indirect sales team.
Early in January Informix completed the division of its activities into two separate companies: Informix Software and Ascential Software.