In what looks like a devastating comment on the prospects in the IBM Corp mainframe business, no doubt exacerbated by IBM’s litigatious approach to competitors, Comdisco Inc has teamed up with Pyramid Technology Corp and Compagnie des Machines Bull SA’s Integris unit for joint development and marketing of open systems-based offerings for the IBM mainframe market. A company like Comdisco does not lightly diversify from a market it knows well and understands as it does the IBM mainframe market without being forced into it by circumstances. The alliance aims to deliver a complete system for customers wanting to enhance mainframe-based data centres with the benefits of open systems, while retaining their current investment in proprietary technology. The alliance combines Pyramid’s expertise in high-availability open system servers, Comdisco’s asset management knowledge and IBM mainframe market presence, and Integris’s integration expertise in re-engineering and downsizing and specialised software tools for the IBM application transition market. The companies are currently working with customers to identify and meet specific requirements; details of product availability and pricing will be given early next year. All three will jointly market them.
