In a move that seems to mirror the Siemens AG-Compagnie des Machines Bull SA-ICL Plc pre-competitive research laboratory set up a few years ago in Munich, Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme AG, Bull and Ing C Olivetti & Co SpA – 80% Fujitsu Ltd-owned ICL is persona non grata these days – have founded a joint software laboratory in Munich and will establish similar ones near Naples and Paris shortly. The labs will work on technical specifications of common software for the three companies as part of pilot projects to set up pan-European networks and applications. The three companies – all lossmakers last year and unlikely to turn a profit this year – said they joined forces to speed up development work but plan to bid separately for the actual contracts. Most of the pilot projects are expected to be completed by the end of 1993, and soon after, national governments are expected to invite for bids for some of these trans-European projects, Reuters reports. The three hope to win 50% in total of the contracts: European-owned computer firms currently only win some 30% of contracts awarded by European authorities while in the US and Japan locally-owned companies are awarded some 90% of public contracts.
