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DAILY NEWS AND INFORMATION FOR THE GLOBAL GRID COMMUNITY /
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Breaking News - Platforms:
Fujitsu, Sun Expand Partnership To Grow Solaris Market
20-year strategic relationship to include the joint development and delivery
of future generation Solaris and SPARC-based systems. The announcement brings
together two of the strongest companies in the world to deliver best in class
platforms for all possible network computing workloads and grow the market for
Solaris and SPARC.
Sun and Fujitsu will bring together their Solaris and SPARC-based server
product lines by mid-2006, creating the industry's most complete data center
systems family, code named the Advanced Product Line (APL). APL will run the
world's leading enterprise-class operating system, Solaris, the Java
Enterprise System, and virtually every major enterprise application. When
complete, the APL will replace Sun's and Fujitsu's existing Sun Fire and
PRIMEPOWER product lines, respectively. Customers will benefit from safe and
seamless binary compatibility along the SPARC roadmap.
During the transition period leading up to the launch of the APL, Sun and
Fujitsu will work together to quickly implement arrangements to make each
other's current Sun Fire and PRIMEPOWER product lines available for
distribution through both companies. These arrangements will vary by
geography. The companies and their respective customers will all benefit from
the expanded distribution of both companies' existing product lines prior to
the introduction of the jointly-developed, next generation products.
"Today's announcement further expands the available market for the Solaris and
SPARC family of systems and continues to prove Sun is one of the most highly
leveraged technology companies in the world, with partnerships extending
across consumers, developers, and now with Fujitsu, well into the mainframe
computing environment," said Jonathan Schwartz, president and chief operating
officer, Sun Microsystems. "Sun continues to grow the broadest operating
platforms on earth, spanning Java and the Java Enterprise System, the Solaris
operating environment running industry standard x86 servers, up into the
mainframe environment, and a newly expanded SPARC family, providing the
highest performance computing infrastructure for the largest diversity of
network workloads. Sun and Fujitsu couldn't be better positioned to drive
share in the growing market for network computing."
"Fujitsu's leading-edge semiconductor technology and expertise in developing
high-performance, high-reliability processors for world-class mainframe and
supercomputer systems, together with Sun's Solaris, Java and other
industry-leading technology strengths, represent a powerful combination for
enterprise customers," remarked Hiroaki Kurokawa, president of Fujitsu
Limited. "I'm confident that our enhanced partnership will enable us to
provide customers with optimal server products that deliver maximum business
value."
One Focus, One Family, All Workloads
The announcement brings together Sun's competence and expertise in the
Internet, and network computing, with Fujitsu's expertise in mission-critical
computing. It redoubles the industry's investment in Solaris and SPARC, and
ensures systems will be available to cover every possible workload -- both in
the rapidly evolving throughput computing marketplace, as well as the
requirement for mainframe scale and quality in traditional computing.
Expanded Reach For World's Most Popular UNIX, Solaris
"This is not only good for Sun and Fujitsu who are essentially doubling the
number of 'feet on the street' globally, but their customers, partners and
investors will also benefit tremendously from this alliance," said Vernon
Turner, group vice president of global enterprise server solutions at IDC. "It
means a protected investment, a clear product roadmap, high-quality and
choice, and a great potential to grow marketshare."
The enhanced partnership will also result in strengthened systems integration
capability and channels for Solaris and SPARC systems. This will create
increased opportunities for the combined companies' thousands of integrated
software vendors (ISVs) and resellers by broadening the market for Solaris.
Sun and Fujitsu will also build on their combined strength across virtually
all global markets to ensure customers receive industry-leading service and
support. The companies will also optimize their distribution channels and
leverage each other's manufacturing facilities and Sun's established
relationship with third party manufacturers.
The announcement marks a historic milestone in SPARC's two-decade history,
marked by the "openness" that was the fundamental principle behind the
formation of SPARC International in 1989. Openness of the processor
architecture allowed Sun and Fujitsu to collaborate on defining the
architecture and compete on implementations. Both the UltraSPARC and the
SPARC64 implementations are based on the open SPARC V9 Instruction Set
Architecture, and it is the "openness" of the architecture that has made this
alliance possible.
About Sun Microsystems Inc
Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision -- "The Network Is The
Computer" -- has propelled Sun Microsystems Inc to its position as a leading
provider of industrial-strength hardware, software and services that make the
Net work. Sun can be found in more than 100 countries and on the World Wide
Web at http://sun.com .
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