Compaq Computer Corp has announced a UK-based testing, development, support and marketing agreement with several vendors of network operating systems – Banyan Systems Inc, Microsoft Corp, Novell Inc and the Santa Cruz Operation Inc for its Systempro servers. The agreements are an extension of existing US arrangements and all the companies involved are at pains to point out that there is no conspiracy. Compaq says the agreement has been set up because of user demand and says it will result in fewer support integration problems and put an end to the finger-pointing scenario where when something goes wrong the customer is shunted between vendors. Compaq will work with the software vendors to optimise implementations of the operating systems on its hardware and to that end has set up a systems integration facility in Richmond, Surrey. Managing director of Compaq UK David Clarke says that although standards may emerge from the initiative, technical exchanges between the companies will not be published, although reference systems will. Tony Scrivens, managing director of Novell UK says that if the company discovers any fixes to problems in its operating system through working with Compaq, that information will be disclosed to other hardware vendors, saying that it’s not in our interests not to work with others. Scrivens added The industry needs this. I think in the future that it will be driven by software and hardware companies. An initiative set up by software vendors would enable other hardware vendors to take part – Compaq says other server vendors will not be invited to its party, but adds that it expects others to follow suit with their own initiatives.
