The Siemens AG companies around the world are an independent lot, and rather than wait for Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme AG to come up with just what it wants, the Internet Solutions Business Unit of the Boca Raton, Florida-based Siemens Stromberg- Carlson Inc public telephone exchange manufacturer has gone straight to the market leader and done a deal with Sun Microsystems Inc. The two will work together to provide integrated hardware, software and services enabling telephone companies to turn themselves into fully-fledged Internet access providers. The agreement is still only at the non-binding memorandum of understanding stage, but envisages that a combination of Sun’s Solaris on Sparc Unix servers, and the Mountain View company’s Internet software, and Siemens’ strength as a global telecommunications equipment and services provider will provide carriers with a scalable, cost-effective system that can be deployed quickly. Siemens Internet Solutions says it intends to offer the Sun Ultra Enterprise server as its key Internet services system, and other Sun hardware and software products as appropriate, and it will pitch the offering at mid- sized and large telecommunications service providers around the world with special emphasis on European, Asian, Latin and South American markets.
