INDUSTRY

TORONTO -- In an expansion of its existing alliance, Platform Computing Inc., the leader in distributed and Grid computing software solutions, announced today that it has signed a global multi-year system integration and reseller agreement with HP. Platform and HP Services will provide consulting and integration services to deliver comprehensive Linux, Windows, HP-UX, and Tru64 UNIX Grid computing and clustering solutions to joint customers around the world. Under the agreement, Platform's full portfolio of software solutions, including the newly released Platform Clusterware(TM), will be available across HP's entire server line. The alliance is aimed at providing customers with solutions that increase operational efficiency, improve business results, and increase the return on their corporate IT investments across industries such as life sciences, government, research, manufacturing, telecommunications and financial services. "Over the past several years, Platform and HP have worked closely together to deliver proven, tightly integrated solutions that add real customer value," said Robert Gordon, President and CEO, Platform Computing Inc. "This agreement further reinforces our leadership position in distributed and Grid computing in Europe, Asia and North America and enables us to provide joint customers with the industry's most comprehensive Enterprise Grid solutions, encompassing workload, resource and performance management solutions. Together, we will identify new opportunities to provide customers with insight into their business problems and enable them to make sound decisions about IT investments." Under the agreement, HP will offer Platform's entire suite of comprehensive distributed computing solutions for workload management (LSF(R), Clusterware, MultiCluster, JobScheduler, File Transfer Agent); resource management (SiteAssure and Global License Broker); and performance management (Platform Intelligence and Analyzer), complemented by Platform's technical support and professional services. This announcement extends the two companies' existing January 2001 reseller agreement, in which Platform LSF (Load Sharing Facility) is embedded into HP AlphaServer SC supercomputer systems. HP was the first system vendor to adopt Platform's Grid computing solutions, including LSF, MultiCluster and Platform Globus(TM), in November 2001. Over the past several years, Platform has collaborated with HP on some of the world's most exciting projects, including the mapping of the human genome project at Celera Genomics and Chromosome 20 and 22 at the Sanger Center. Other joint customers include Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique (CEA), Daimler Chrysler, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and SharcNET. "Platform is an experienced and innovative specialist in distributed and Grid computing that clearly understands today's complex business and computing environment," said Winston Prather, vice president, HP High Performance Technical Computing. "We believe this agreement will create significant opportunity for Platform and HP to respond to critical business issues by more fully leveraging both companies' solutions." Platform's software offering also is synergistic with the HP Utility Data Center, HP's new self-healing, self-adapting programmable data center capability. This capability will enable customers using Platform's environment to dynamically share the IT infrastructure with other applications. Platform and HP also plan to continue to co-develop marketing programs and participate in joint activities in the area of distributed and Grid computing. The two companies recently completed a three-city Grid computing roadshow with analyst firm IDC in which they showcased customers deriving value and ROI from Enterprise Grid computing.