Unisys
From Free net encyclopedia
homepage = www.unisys.com
}} Unisys Corporation (Template:Nyse), based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, United States, is a global provider of information technology services and solutions.
Contents |
History
Unisys was formed in September 1986 through the merger of the mainframe corporations Sperry and Burroughs, with Burroughs buying Sperry for $4.8 billion. The name was chosen after an internal competition. The merger was the largest in the computer industry at the time and made Unisys the second largest computer company, revenue of $10.5 billion.
Important events in the company's history include the development of the 2200 series from 1986, including the UNISYS 2200/500 CMOS mainframe, and the Micro A in 1989, the first desktop mainframe.
In response to changing market and client requirements, the company has steadily transformed its business model to a services-led, technology-enabled model. Today, 83% of the company’s revenue comes from services such as systems integration and consulting, outsourcing, and infrastructure services. This is up from 65% in 1997. Unisys has decades of experience in providing information solutions that handle high-end, complex, transaction-intensive environments. Clients such as Washington Mutual, the New York Clearinghouse, Lufthansa Systems, Lloyds TSB, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, Nextel, and Telefonica of Spain rely on Unisys solutions to process millions of transactions for their customers and citizens.
In March 2006, Unisys sold its Japanese distributor stake for $374 million. The sale will help fund losses by Unisys last year and the cost for 3,600 previously laid off employees. Unisys also announced that 3,000 will be laid off by September 2006 and an additional 600 by the end of 2006. This will account for about 10% of the current Unisys employee workforce.
Acquisitions
- In 1988 the company acquired Convergent Technologies, and their innovative CTOS.
Facts
- Unisys operates the world's largest RFID network for the U.S. military, tracking 9 million containers yearly to 1,500 nodes in 25 countries.
- More than 275,000 tons of cargo pass securely through four major ports using Unisys solutions.
- Half of all checks written in the world are processed using Unisys solutions.
- Twenty-two of the world’s top twenty-five banks rely on Unisys.
- Through its Managed Security Services, Unisys protects the bank accounts of some 7,500,000 Americans.
- Unisys systems process more than 200 million income tax returns annually.
- Unisys created a universal identification card for South Africa’s 43 million citizens.
- Twenty U.S. airports partner with Unisys to develop biometric technology.
- More than 200 airlines – including 21 of the top 25 – rely on Unisys.
- Unisys passenger reservations solutions are used by more than 200 airlines globally.
- More than 600 of the world's airports use Unisys solutions.
- Unisys solutions are used to move approximately 35% of the world's international air cargo shipments.
- Unisys owns and runs one of the most geographically expansive private data networks in the world.
Services & Technologies
The current Unisys business model can be generalized into services, solutions and technologies.
Services
Unisys focuses on the following service lines:
- Consulting
- Systems Integration
- Outsourcing
- Infrastructure Services
- Server Technology
Using these service lines the company focuses on solutions for the financal services and commercial industries, as well as the public sector. It's current focus areas are:
- Enterprise security
- Real-Time infrastructure - A dynamic scaling systems solution that accounts for changes in company processes, events, infrastructure & technology.
- Open source solutions
- Microsoft solutions
- Outsourcing (including business process management, managed infrastructure services & datacenter outsourcing)
Unisys applies a methodology called 3D Visible Enterprise, which uses standards-based technology and modeling tools to allow customers to create a digital blueprint of their operations. They can then see cause-effect relationships and better anticipate and implement needed changes in the business. This methodology underpins all of the company’s offerings and client relationships.
Technologies
In its technology business Unisys continues to invest in its ClearPath and ES7000 servers and software. The current focus is on providing “on-demand” and real-time infrastructure solutions on these platforms. The ES7000 server family uses Intel processors such as Xeon or Itanium. The server runs Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Novell Linux, Red Hat Linux, and Sun Solaris 10. It is also one of the most popular players in the 4 to 32 way server market in businesses and governments, particularly in Europe, India, and China. The company's mainframe line, Clearpath, is capable of running, not only mainframe software, but both the Java platform and the JBoss Java EE Application Server concurrently. The Clearpath system is available in either a 2200-based system (Sperry) or an MCP-based system (Burroughs).
Community & Environment
- To underscore its commitment to diversity, Unisys supports Catalyst©, the leading research and advisory organization working with businesses and the professions to build inclusive environments and expand opportunities for women at work.
- In 2005 Unisys was selected by The Human Rights Campaign as a top company to work for because of its support for equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees.
- Since 2002 Unisys has been recognized as a global leader in corporate sustainability by its inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Indexes (DJSI World). Unisys also was named the industry leader in the Computer Services & Internet industry, and is one of only 3 companies (out of 29 reviewed) to be included in this category.
- Unisys manufacturing sites received ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS) certification in July 1999. Through on-going EMS implementation, the company continues to formulate and implement policy and objectives that take into account legislative requirements, environment-friendly technological approaches and information about significant environmental impacts.
- Since 1988, Unisys has participated in the Environmental Protection Agency's Green Lights program.
Controversy
Unisys created a controversy in 1994 by enforcing its patent on the LZW data compression algorithm, which is used in the common GIF image file format. For a more complete discussion of this issue see GIF#Unisys and LZW patent enforcement.
Unisys was the target of "Operation Ill Wind", a major corruption investigation in the mid-to-late-1980s. A number of employees were imprisoned as a result.
In 2005, there was further trouble for the company related to consulting work it was doing for the U.S. government. In October, federal auditors announced that the company had overbilled on the 1-3 billion dollar contract for almost 171,000 hours of labor and overtime. Unisys denied wrongdoing.
External links
- Official Unisys website
- Yahoo! - Unisys Corporation Company Profile
- Unisys profile published by the Center for Public Integrity. Emphasis on the company's legal troubles and military contracts.de:Unisys
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