IBM taps Logicon for Unix help

IBM Corp. is expected to announce today that it will enhance its presence in the defense market through a partnership with Logicon Inc.

Under the new agreement, Logicon will bring IBM's Unix operating system, known as AIX, into compliance with the Defense Department's information technology architecture—the Defense Information Infrastructure Common Operating Environment (DII COE).

Bringing AIX into compliance with defense requirements will enable IBM to market the operating system and its eServer pSeries products to Defense Department customers.

"IBM has a long history of working with the federal government, and DII COE compliance will open up a greatly expanded market opportunity for us in the Defense Department," said Anne Altman, managing director of IBM's federal government division. "This has been estimated to be a $2 billion a year market, and we're going after our share."

DOD implemented the architecture in 1993 to eliminate the duplication of applications throughout the department, including mapping and communications technology, and to eliminate design incompatibility among its computer systems.

The architecture software enables defense personnel to operate any server without having to know each computer manufacturer's individual commands, creating a "common operating environment" that eases training and reduces costs, according to an IBM statement.