ENTERTAINMENT

Sun Microsystems, Inc., and Fujitsu Limited today announced the expansion of their 20-year strategic relationship to include the joint development and delivery of future generation Solaris and SPARC-based systems. Today's 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 Today's 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, Global Enterprise Server Solutions, 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. Today's 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.