The database that HP is anointing as the best substitute for IMAGE made its first steps onto HP’s newest hardware, when Marxmeier Software AG announced on Jan. 31 that Eloquence has been ported to HP’s Itanium-based server systems. The port signalled the start of the final beta test phase for that version of the database. Eloquence has a TurboIMAGE compatibility module that makes it behave like the databases on the HP 3000s in service today. Marxmeier said it expects to release the Itanium-ready Eloquence at the end of this month, after the final beta is completed. The software vendor said Eloquence, because it has Business Basic riding inside it, is among the first development offerings for the nascent Itanium processor line

In the meantime, Eloquence distributors were expecting the release of the B.07.00 version of Eloquence — known as Version 7.0 throughout Marxmeier’s discussions of it during 2002 — by mid-February. The 7.0 code, which contains the latest technology to emulate TurboIMAGE behavior, had been expected during the fourth quarter of 2002, then in December, a typical rolling release of mission-critical software for a very particular IT customer base. Marxmeier had published a schedule of releases beyond 7.0, calling for a March release of 7.10. It’s not certain whether the delay in 7.0 will bring a subsequent delay in 7.10. The company recently simplified its support pricing to 10 percent of the product’s list price per year

The creators of Eloquence can now call their own shots on things like pricing and software release dates. Late in 2002, Marxmeier Software AG bought back all rights to the database that had been known as HP Eloquence, taking its product back from HP with the blessings of the larger vendor. HP no longer distributes or supports the product, for reasons that Marxmeier said surround “HP’s product and support service restructuring. The agreement [to shift Eloquence’s ownership] is just reflecting in writing what has been reality and good practice in the last 14 years.” But Marxmeier sells its own database from here on in.

HP will honor its Eloquence support agreements through March 31 of this year, and then customers who’ve bought their support from HP for Eloquence will get a pro-rated refund on the balance of their support contracts. Support will now flow from Marxmeier Software AG to the customers directly, or through a new network of independent distributors handling the database. Any customers who bought the product after May 1, 2002, are entitled to a free upgrade to the 7.0 release of the database, which runs on Linux, HP-UX and Windows. With HP’s sales help, the software’s now gotten to 2,500 installed sites worldwide.