TransTools SA, a Spanish software company backed totally by private capital, is competing with Oracle Corp, Informix Corp and Sybase Inc. Managing director Javier Ollero is quick to point out that TransTools is not a service company, but a product company that undertakes extensive research and development. From the start, it has placed its faith in Unix. TransTools’ latest product is MultiBase, an applications development tool for relational databases that took four years to develop. The product has a client-server architecture for use with both MS-DOS and Unix machines, and supports such graphical user interfaces as Windows, Motif, and Open Look. Ollero asserts that TransTools has not involved itself in the price war. However, while Oracle and Informix have raised their prices, TransTools prices have been reduced. Nonetheless, prices are unlikely to drop further: TransTools made the mistake of launching its first database at too low a price, which lost it the prestige Ollero feels it deserves. TransTools’ main customer is the public administration, but Ollero admits private enterprise has shown little interest, preferring the offerings of the multinationals. TransTools is open to the idea of being absorbed by a multi-national, ideally a software and services company. In general, Ollero believes that European countries have similar opportunities to the US for developing innovative software, and says that many important ideas have come from small companies. Finally, he claims that TransTools holds second or third position in the Spanish market behind Oracle and Informix, with the impact of Sybase Corp and Ingres Corp being relatively muted.
