EMC Corp. and Fujitsu Siemens Computers have extended their strategic alliance through 2008 as the two firms increase jointly-developed solutions that are becoming mutually advantageous in North America and Europe.
In announcing the extension of the alliance Thursday, the two firms pointed to cooperative development of solutions in e-mail consolidation, global fail-over and data protection as fruitful areas for both firms. While the European and North American markets are different, they increasingly have similar IT problems.
"Compliance is becoming important in Europe," said John Koury, EMC's vice president of global channel marketing in an interview. "In the U. S., it's driven by the federal government. It gives us the opportunity to get ahead of the curve in Europe." New accounting reporting in the U. S. is required by Sarbanes-Oxley legislation while in Europe new requirements by the European Union are driving compliance.
In noting the two firms' cooperative work in e-mail, Koury said they worked together on e-mail consolidation. "In the past, people used to take e-mail for granted," he said. "Now it's almost mission critical. And Europe is catching up."
Where do EMC's recent acquisitions of Legato, Documentum and VMware fit in the picture with Fujitsu Siemens? Koury noted that Legato has had a decade-long relationship with Legato. The more recent Documentum and VMware acquisitions are still being melded into the EMC-Fujitsu Siemens operation.
