Unisys and Colt to Bring Cloud-Based Services to European Businesses

Unisys will provide infrastructure, software and services for Colt to provide an enterprise cloud service that lets businesses access IT services more efficiently at lower cost

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Unisys Corporation

Oct 25, 2010, 03:30 ET

LONDON, Oct. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS) today announced that its European subsidiary Unisys Limited has entered into a contract to provide Colt Technology Services with infrastructure, cloud management software and services. After the initial UK implementation, the companies intend to provide the services from an additional six data centres within Colt's European network. Both Colt and Unisys will use this environment to deliver cloud-based services to their customers throughout Europe.

Colt is a leading provider of business communications and IT managed services to organisations throughout Europe. Part of Colt's overall cloud strategy, these new services are intended to increase customers' flexibility in accessing IT infrastructure and software resources on an as-needed basis while minimising capital costs.

Under the initial three-year agreement, Unisys will implement a cloud computing environment, which will be installed in Colt's secure data centre. Colt will provide a range of infrastructure, platform and virtualised desktop services based on this platform.

Unisys will manage its cloud-based infrastructure using the Unisys Converged Remote Infrastructure Management Suite of solutions. These ITIL-compliant, best- practice IT management services will be integrated into Colt's existing ITIL V3 Service Operation.

"This is a significant business relationship for Colt. Combining our high-performance network and data centre services with Unisys' extensive IT and cloud-solution expertise, we are able to further demonstrate our position as a leading provider of a range of best-in-class cloud-based offerings," explains Richard Oosterom, managing director, Colt Managed Services. "The services Colt will bring to market with Unisys will address the deployment and management of complex existing architectures. This will enable Colt to offer customers a range of enterprise cloud services which provide high performance, reliability and real-time response to dynamic business changes."

Ron Frankenfield, president, Unisys Global Outsourcing and Infrastructure Services, says, "Businesses in all industries are beginning to explore cloud computing as a key way to provide services to their customers more quickly and cost-efficiently than in the past. Unisys is pleased to be working with Colt, a clear innovator in business communications and IT managed services, to bring the operational and financial benefits of cloud computing to Colt and Unisys customers across Europe."

The cloud computing environment and services provided by Unisys will enable Colt to provide a range of services to customers:

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) – a scalable server environment that enables a customer to add and delete virtual and non-virtual servers on demand to meet fluctuating resource requirements;
Platform as a Service (PaaS) – a layer of standard middleware, such as Microsoft® .NET, JBoss and other software stacks, that runs on top of the IaaS environment to make it easier for clients to move their applications to the cloud without significant modification. Unisys monitors and manages the layer to enhance application availability; and
Software as a Service (SaaS) - initially providing virtual desktop as a service for access to standard software suites that many companies provide for their end users.

About Colt

Colt is Europe's leading information delivery platform, enabling its customers to share, process and store their vital business information. Colt is an established leader in delivering integrated networking and IT managed services to major organisations, midsized businesses and wholesale customers. Colt operates in over 13 countries with 25,000km of network that includes metropolitan area networks in 34 major European cities with direct fibre connections into 16,000 buildings and 19 Colt data centres.

Colt is listed on the London Stock Exchange (COLT). Information about Colt and its services can be found at www.colt.net.

About Unisys

Unisys is a worldwide information technology company. We provide a portfolio of IT services, software, and technology that solves critical problems for clients. We specialize in helping clients secure their operations, increase the efficiency and utilization of their data centers, enhance support to their end users and constituents, and modernize their enterprise applications. To provide these services and solutions, we bring together offerings and capabilities in outsourcing services, systems integration and consulting services, infrastructure services, maintenance services, and high-end server technology. With approximately 23,000 employees, Unisys serves commercial organizations and government agencies throughout the world. For more information, visit www.unisys.com.

RELEASE NO.: 1025/8997

Unisys is a registered trademark of Unisys Corporation. All other brands and products referenced herein are acknowledged to be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

SOURCE Unisys Corporation