Fujitsu signs long-term IT infrastructure deal with Alliance Data
On June 25, 2009, Fujitsu announced that it has entered into a long-term outsourcing agreement with Alliance Data, a leading provider of loyalty and marketing solutions derived from transaction-rich data. Under terms of the agreement, Fujitsu will assume the Alliance Data Information Technology Services (ITS) function, which services Alliance Data business units, as well as five other existing clients. In addition, Fujitsu will manage the existing Tier 3 datacenter, assets and personnel, and estimates the combined initial annual value to Fujitsu to be greater than $40 million, which immediately and significantly expands the infrastructure services capabilities of Fujitsu America.
This deal marks a major milestone for Fujitsu America toward its stated goal of building its outsourcing and managed services offerings. The contract supports the Fujitsu global business strategy of developing its IT services business to meet the increasing market demand for these services.
According to Jack Noble, head of the IT Services Group for Fujitsu America, “This arrangement marks our immediate expansion of infrastructure services capabilities in the North American market. We are only 90 days into our existence as Fujitsu America, and this partnership marks the first step in the fulfillment of our corporate goal to expand our global presence and become a major player in IT Services in North America”.
For more information about this exciting new opportunity, go to the press release.
For more information about Alliance Data, be sure to visit their website.
RetailReady program: new opportunities for retail ISVs
On June 24th, Fujitsu America announced its RetailReady™ program for the retail industry, providing benefits for independent software vendors (ISVs) by allowing them to validate their applications with retail hardware from Fujitsu.
After qualifying as Fujitsu RetailReady, ISVs can market their solutions as being compatible with Fujitsu retail hardware. One example of hardware that could benefit from the partnership would be the recently announced TeamPoS(R) 3600 point-of-sale (POS) system. The partnership also exposes the ISV's brand and solutions to potential Fujitsu clients, and offers unique, unparalleled access to Fujitsu product marketing and technical information through a secure partner Web portal. Each RetailReady partner will also receive a Fujitsu POS unit for customer demonstrations.
"ISVs are very important to the continued success of Fujitsu, and as part of our larger channel initiatives, we want to introduce programs that enable ISV growth when partnered with Fujitsu," said Bill Buie, senior vice president, channel, alliance and partner sales at Fujitsu America. "Retailers know that these ISVs have successfully qualified their solutions against Fujitsu compatibility checklists, and will therefore have more confidence in purchasing a RetailReady solution. This program will not only broaden the scope of software offerings for our hardware, but it will help boost our RetailReady partners' sales as well."
To read the entire press release and to learn of additional benefits RetailReady will provide, go to this link.
If you would like additional information about the RetailReady program, be sure to visit the program homepage.
Fujitsu America to participate in Microsoft Windows® 7 upgrade program
Fujitsu America recently announced that end-users purchasing a qualifying LifeBook® notebook with Windows Vista® Home Premium or Windows Vista Business are eligible to receive a free comparable version of Windows 7 beginning now through January 31, 2010.
There is no charge for customers to participate in this program. Fujitsu will cover the costs of the disk, as well as basic shipping and handling charges. There is a limit of 25 copies of the upgrade per customer. End users of qualifying Fujitsu notebooks can order their free upgrade online through http://www.shopfujitsu.com/Windows7Upgrade/.
Windows 7 is designed to make everyday tasks faster and easier, and make new things possible for consumers, while balancing flexibility with control for businesses. According to Paul Moore, senior director of mobile product management for Fujitsu America, "Fujitsu is acknowledged as one of the foremost experts in pen-enabled PC computing, and understanding how PCs are used in the varying environments gives us an edge in designing systems that take full advantage of Windows 7 capabilities in the future."
The free upgrade option program is applicable to several models of Fujitsu LifeBook notebooks and tablet PCs. For a complete list of qualifying systems, go to the Fujitsu press release.
Fujitsu expands global storage business under the ETERNUS brand
On June 8th, Fujitsu announced the standardization of its global storage portfolio under the ETERNUS® brand name and introduced the ETERNUS DX60 and DX80 entry-level RAID storage systems. These new storage systems deliver features such as reduced power consumption, simplified management and improved redundancy that meet growing demand from mid-sized enterprises. The Fujitsu CentricStor® virtual tape system and the FibreCAT TX entry-level tape systems have been renamed ETERNUS CS and ETERNUS LT, respectively.
Both ETERNUS DX systems offer high availability, reliability and speed at an affordable price point. The two models have redundant components and the ETERNUS DX60 offers 4 Gigabit-per-second FC technology and the ETERNUS DX80 offers 4 or 8 Gigabit-per-second FC technology. Both models feature new functions that ensure greater availability and significantly faster recovery, including eight snapshots (which can be extended to 1024) to enable rapid backups. ETERNUS DX systems are easy to install and manage. The ETERNUS DX80 also features easy-to-activate encryption to prevent unauthorized access to confidential data. Both systems include the EcoMode function, based on MAID (Massive Array of Idle Disks) technology, that allows disks that are no longer needed (such as disks planned for daily backups) to be shut down to conserve energy -- a capability designed to contribute to green data centers.
As Dave Egan, senior vice president of storage for Fujitsu America points out: "Popularity in North America has helped propel the ETERNUS name into a global brand, and we are pleased to unify the Fujitsu global storage portfolio under that name. At Fujitsu America, the new ETERNUS DX systems offer our channel partners and our SME clients data-center quality, reliability and flexibility out of the box, particularly in vertical markets such as education, financial services, government, healthcare, manufacturing, retail and telecommunications."
To get all the details about the new ETERNUS DX60 and ETERNUS DX80 systems, go to their respective links.
Fujitsu launches its 1st netbook-class mini-notebook in N. America
On June 2nd, Fujitsu America introduced the Fujitsu M2010 mini-notebook, its first netbook-class mini for the North American market. With its environmentally-friendly 10.1-inch mercury-free backlit display, the 2.5-pound Microsoft Windows XP Home-based Fujitsu M2010 mini-notebook is ideal for the K-12 education market and mobile professionals alike. Featuring a durable design, the stylish, glossy ruby red M2010 mini-notebook can withstand being casually tucked into a handbag, messenger bag, or backpack.
Paul Moore, senior director of mobile product management for Fujitsu America, notes that "with today's budget constraints, schools need to stretch their funds even further. The Fujitsu M2010 mini-notebook allows them to provide more students with notebooks without having to sacrifice the renowned Fujitsu durability and reliability. For mobile professionals, the Fujitsu M2010 mini-notebook is an outstanding secondary system for on-the-go computing."
The Fujitsu M2010 mini-notebook stands out from other netbook-class mini-notebooks with features including easy expandability up to 2 GB, three USB ports (rather than the standard two), stereo speakers, digital microphone, Bluetooth and a quick 50-second start-up.
Priced starting at just $449 for a fixed configuration, the M2010 is available immediately though the Fujitsu America website and select retailers/e-tailers.
Fujitsu PROGRESSION named finalist in Best of Tech-Ed 2009
Fujitsu America recently announced that its Fujitsu PROGRESSION™ legacy system modernization service was named a finalist in the Best of Tech-Ed 2009 awards program in the Software Components & Middleware category by Penton Media's Windows IT Pro® and SQL Server Magazine®. The Best of Tech-Ed 2009 Awards recognize companies that offer innovative products for the industry. The judges reviewed more than 170 products and services submitted for the contest and chose 35 finalists to be interviewed at the Tech-Ed 2009 IT Pro Conference in Los Angeles, Calif. Fujitsu PROGRESSION was selected based on innovation, strategic importance to the market, competitive advantage and exceptional value to customers. All winners were announced on May 13, 2009, at an evening reception.
Fujitsu PROGRESSION is the industry's best solution for migrating older systems, such as IBM midrange (AS/400, iSeries) and mainframe systems, Unisys and HP3000, to Microsoft(R) .NET, allowing companies to modernize IT while ensuring business continuity. Leveraging Fujitsu expertise in legacy modernization, the Fujitsu PROGRESSION service is based on a successful Fujitsu implementation at the Washington State Department of Licensing.
With Fujitsu PROGRESSION, companies maintain full control over the maintenance and enhancement of their systems because Fujitsu delivers the source code.
The director of the PROGRESSION project for Fujitsu America, Eric Payeur, notes that "as a leading provider of systems integration and technology consulting services, Fujitsu is delighted by this Tech-Ed award, which focuses on the innovation of our solution and the value it brings to customers. We will continue to focus on finding innovative ways to ensure our customers can modernize their systems while maximizing the use of existing assets, ensuring business continuity, and minimizing costs."
To learn all the details about the PROGRESSION legacy modernization service, be sure to visit the PROGRESSION web site.
Fujitsu hosts America Technology symposium
Fujitsu Laboratories of America, Inc. hosted its annual America Technology Symposium on June 11th, 2009 at the Fujitsu Silicon Valley Campus. Titled “Cloud Computing: Beyond the Hype,” the symposium was led by a diverse mix of prestigious speakers and panelists, including Hitoshi Matsumoto, president and CEO, Fujitsu Laboratories of America; Lew Tucker, VP and CTO, Cloud Computing, Sun Microsystems; Gary Wolf, contributing editor of Wired and founder of QuantifiedSelf; Lee Tien, senior staff attorney, Electronic Frontier Foundation; Jean Pawluk, chief architect, Visa; Jinesh Varia, technology evangelist, Amazon Web Services; Bobby Napiltonia, SVP of WW channels and alliances, salesforce.com; Dylan Larson, director of server platform marketing, Intel; Armando Fox, Ph.D., associate professor, UC Berkeley Reliable Adaptive Distributed Systems Lab; and many more.
Attendees listened to and participated in the discussions on a variety of topics, including:
• Personal Cloud—Clouds extending to physical bodies and the data they produce
• Trusted Cloud I—Data protection, security, privacy, and trust concerns
• Trusted Cloud II—Interoperability and avoiding vendor lock-in
• Cloud Business—The economics of cloud computing and emerging business models
• Hardware and the Green Server—Impacts of hardware on the environment