Fujitsu Siemens Computers, the leading European IT provider, has announced it has joined industry leaders in founding the Enterprise Grid Alliance (EGA), a consortium created to develop enterprise grid solutions and accelerate the deployment of grid computing. (see
www.gridalliance.org
).
The EGA has been established to support quick adoption of grid, and focus resources on clear directions for industry standards. Fujitsu Siemens Computers and the Fujitsu Group have been investing considerable resources into advanced grid technology to ensure that its products are not only grid-ready, but under the umbrella of Business Critical Computing, have implemented an early incarnation of grid technology with the introduction of FlexFrame for mySAP Business Suite and its PRIMECLUSTER technology. Joining the EGA allows Fujitsu Siemens Computers to bring its existing, customer-proven expertise to the organisation.
Grid computing today: FlexFrame and PRIMECLUSTER product suite
The ground basis for grid-type computing is clear: reduce complexity and increase flexibility. To achieve this, Fujitsu Siemens Computers, on behalf of the Fujitsu Group, has developed FlexFrame for my SAP Business Suite, the first complete realisation of server virtualisation and dynamic component provisioning for business applications available today. This architecture has become a reference blueprint for the realisation of grid in one box.
As an integral part of Fujitsu Siemens Computers` vision on grid computing, PRIMECLUSTER offers enterprises a powerful solution linking servers to maximise the availability and scalability of their IT infrastructures. PRIMECLUSTER provides easy to use mechanisms to implement high availability and unmatched scalability for any application in today`s multi-tier enterprise. It also offers grid capabilities to enable efficient pooling of server resources in data centres and in this way significantly increase today`s usually very low utilisation rate of application-specific server configurations.
"Fujitsu Siemens Computers has a long tradition of supporting and promoting open systems standards in order to continuously create customer value," said Dr Bernd Kosch, Vice-President Alliances, Fujitsu Siemens Computers. "We have pioneered the grid approach with our FlexFrame concept for infrastructure consolidation and we are determined to keep pushing towards innovation that drives real customer benefit. We make sure that business challenges are solved."
The EGA is an open, independent and vendor-neutral community focused on meeting the unique requirements of enterprise grid deployments, not previously addressed by scientific or academic grids. The Alliance will identify obstacles organisations face in using enterprise grids and will promote open, interoperable solutions to overcome these challenges. By focusing exclusively on the needs of enterprise users, the EGA will enable businesses to realise the many benefits of grid computing.
"Although grid computing is already well-established in the academic, research and technical sectors, it has yet to gain significant traction throughout the enterprise," said Donald Deutsch, President, Enterprise Grid Alliance and Vice-President, standards strategy and architecture, Oracle Corp. "In close coordination, the members of the EGA will create open, interoperable enterprise grid computing solutions and increase the adoption of enterprise grid computing."
Representing a broad cross-section of leading technology companies, Fujitsu Siemens Computers will join additional founding members - EMC, HP, Intel, NEC, Network Appliance, Oracle and Sun Microsystems - to drive adoption of grid computing. Specifically, the board of directors will participate in and chair committees and vote to approve the consortium`s output and core capabilities.
The EGA is an open, independent and vendor-neutral community addressing the near-term requirements for deploying commercial applications in a grid environment. Initial focus areas include reference models, provisioning, security and accounting. The alliance will address obstacles that organisations face using enterprise grids, by looking at best practices and solutions that are open and interoperable. By focusing exclusively on the needs of enterprise users, the EGA will enable businesses to realise the many benefits of grid computing such as faster response to changing business needs, better utilisation and service level performance and lower IT operating costs.
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Fujitsu Siemens Computers is the leading European IT provider with a responsible strategic focus on next-generation mobility and business-critical computing products, services and solutions. With a portfolio of exceptional depth, our offering extends from handhelds through desktops to enterprise-class IT infrastructure solutions. Fujitsu Siemens Computers has a strong presence in all key markets across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Leveraging the strengths, innovation and global reach of our joint shareholders, Fujitsu Limited and Siemens AG, we make sure we meet the needs of customers: large corporations, small and medium enterprises and private users.
For more information on Fujitsu Siemens Computers, please visit www.fujitsu-siemens.com.
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