INDUSTRY

Top enterprise and technical computing providers Bull, Fujitsu, Fujitsu Siemens Computers, Hitachi, HP, Intel, NEC, SGI and Unisys announced the formation of the Itanium Solutions Alliance. Leading software vendors BEA, Microsoft, Novell, Oracle, Red Hat and SAS have also joined this organization as charter members; accompanied by early members to include Hyperion, Informatica, MiT Systems, MSC.Software, Sybase, Symantec, TIBCO and Trend Micro. This organization will boost availability of Itanium solutions through delivery of a suite of enabling programs targeted at enterprise and technical computing developers. With over 70,000 data center deployments of Itanium systems within the last four years, formation of the organization underscores the Alliance participants' collective long-term commitment to the expansion of Itanium solutions within enterprise and technical computing environments. The new Alliance delivers a suite of enabling programs designed to accelerate the availability of Itanium solutions. For customers, this will mean faster time-to-implementation of the applications most critical to their new business needs. Now customers can reap the benefits of industry standard technology providing lower cost, higher levels of system performance and application integration as well as a broader choice of hardware and software vendors committed to the Itanium architecture. "With $3 billion of Itanium servers running over 5000 applications worldwide, Itanium solutions continue to gain acceptance for mission critical enterprise and technical computing environments," said Vernon Turner, group vice president and general manager of IDC Corporation's Enterprise Computing Group. "IDC estimates that Itanium server shipments will grow by over 65 percent CAGR and the market share revenue will rise to 10 percent by 2009 to nearly $6.6 billion. Over 95 percent of leading server vendors have already provided Itanium-based servers. With the launch of the Itanium Solutions Alliance, the industry now has a single source of focus for the delivery of a broad scope of software applications." Alliance enabling programs announced at launch include Developer Days, the Itanium Solutions Center Network and the Itanium Solutions Catalog. All programs will provide software developers resources to speed application optimization for Itanium solutions as well as ultimately providing end customers with a richer set of solution alternatives. Currently more than 5000 applications have been ported to Itanium platforms. Industry enabling workshops, known as Developer Days, will target Linux and Windows software developers spanning corporate and open source environments seeking hands on assistance with migrating applications and delivering new applications to the Itanium environment. These events will be held on a regular basis, at locations around the world and will be hosted by engineering experts from Alliance participating companies. The Alliance expects to host hundreds of developers at Developer Day events in the first year with many ISVs already announcing plans to accelerate ports with the launch of this new program. Developers will have systems, cutting edge porting tools and compilers, and the wealth of experience of the Itanium industry to assist their porting efforts. In addition, the Alliance is providing the Itanium Solutions Center Network comprised of 20 global facilities hosted by Alliance member companies. The establishment of this program facilitates on-demand engineering support for tuning applications in Windows and Linux environments. The centers will offer extensive support tools from Founding Sponsor companies as well as technical assistance from member company experts. The Alliance also announced the Itanium Solutions Catalog. The Solutions Catalog is expected to feature all software that is supported for Itanium platforms. Now open to ISVs for application submission, the Solutions Catalog is planned to be released to the public by the end of 2005. The Solutions Catalog will offer the industry and customers a single source for information on Itanium solution availability. A global organization, the Itanium Solutions Alliance is unveiling its programs at three industry events this week. An Alliance speaker will discuss application enabling for the financial services industry at the High Performance on Wall Street event in New York. Representatives from Alliance member companies will also be on hand at this week's IDC European IT Forum in Paris. Later this week, Alliance representatives will speak at Intel's server conference in Osaka. A full schedule of Alliance events is available on the group's Website. Membership to the Alliance is open to any enterprise and technical software supplier looking to optimize applications for Itanium environments or enterprise and technical computing providers looking to network with other leaders in delivery of best-in-breed computing solutions. More information about the Alliance and membership can be found at www.itaniumsolutionsalliance.org .