Unisys, NEC collaborate on R&D, manufacturing and delivery worldwide

Unisys and NEC have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on technology research and development, manufacturing and solutions delivery.

The alliance will cover a number of areas of joint development and solution delivery activities focusing on server technology, software, integrated solutions and support services.

"This alliance will significantly contribute to NEC`s global business. We expect high-end Intel-based servers, the most important in the market, to be even further enhanced, boosting global shipments. Optimal advancement of server software will be enabled by the mutual provision of both companies` software in the mission-critical business field," says Akinobu Kanasugi, president of NEC.

Joseph McGrath, president and CEO of Unisys, says: "Together, we can provide an enriched combination of technology, consulting expertise and global presence that is designed to generate increased innovation with lower R&D costs, stronger offerings for our customers, and access to new market opportunities for both companies. This is among a number of new ventures for Unisys that build on our aggressive partnering model."

The companies will design and develop a common high-end Intel-based server platform. The first release is planned for 2007. NEC will manufacture the new servers on behalf of both companies. Unisys will continue to supply its customers with ClearPath mainframes with the benefit, over time, of joint R&D by both companies and NEC manufacturing.

The two companies plan to supply to each other their current Windows- and Linux-based middleware products, such as NEC`s "VALUMOware" and Unisys Sentinel software. They also plan to jointly develop new middleware to maximise application and systems management efficiency.

"Industry data shows that Unisys already has the largest share of the fast growing high-end Intel-based Windows server market," says Fred Dillman, CTO of Unisys.

Bernard Donnelly, consulting services manager, says: "Unisys and NEC are positioned to deliver the benefits of the Intel technology roadmap for future chip developments, to drive the growth of standardised data centre servers - bringing lower costs, greater flexibility and higher performance to our customers."

Together, NEC and Unisys plan to extend the customer value and effective geographic scope of their solutions business. Initial areas for the planned collaboration include:

* Security products and solutions: Unisys and NEC both have a strong background in providing their respective offerings in the security market for some of the most demanding industries and government organisations. The companies are planning several new and expanded initiatives that combine NEC`s biometric devices - such as fingerprint, palm print and facial recognition systems - with Unisys domain expertise in developing security solutions for financial services, airline transportation, federal government international border control and other industry segments.

* Telecommunications solutions: the companies have agreed to explore opportunities for network-based services for the telecommunications industry in order to leverage their respective core competencies. The parties may also collaborate to deliver an end-to-end solution for the emerging IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) sector that will help global carriers deliver new services through convergence between existing fixed and mobile networks.

* 3D Visible Enterprise solutions: NEC will explore using Unisys`s 3D Visible Enterprise (3D-VE) methodology to improve services delivery to its clients. 3D-VE is Unisys`s foundational approach to marrying domain expertise with technical scenario modelling tools to provide customers with a rich, three-dimensional representation of the costs and impacts of IT decisions at all levels of their business organisation.

* Worldwide opportunities: the companies will collaborate to advance their intersecting interests in areas such as in consulting, systems integration and outsourcing solutions as they engage a broad spectrum of customers in countries such as the United States and China, as well as other growth markets.

* Maintenance and support: Unisys will become the preferred partner to provide technology support and maintenance services, such as break-fix support, to NEC`s customers in markets outside Japan. Additional areas for exploration include how NEC can leverage Unisys`s global footprint in other service areas.