Unisys takes NZ technology global

Auckland-based EMS-Cortex has been chosen by Unisys to supply software as a service provisioning and management software for Unisys’ global cloud services.

The software, called Cortex, enables secure communication and collaboration in Microsoft Outlook, SharePoint and Office Communication Services environments. It provides control panel capability which enables hosted services to be set up and managed through a single interface.

The software as a service (SaaS) offering will be provided through the Unisys Secure Cloud Solution, which enables enterprise clients to securely move conventional business applications - including those with secure or sensitive data - into a managed, shared cloud service without costly, time-consuming rewrites or other alterations.

Unisys New Zealand managing director Brett Hodgson says Cortex was selected following a competitive evaluation with other vendors worldwide.

"Unisys selected EMS-Cortex for its combination of functionality and value," Hodgson says. "Its feature set matched our requirements to be the provisioning and management portal for the Unisys secure unified communication as a service offering in datacentres that support the Unisys Secure Cloud Solution. The first implementation will be in North America."

EMS Cortex CEO Mark Loveys says a key differentiator for Cortex is its ability to allow end customers to perform day-to-day administration themselves, as well as the breadth of applications it supports - including key Microsoft applications, Blackberry and Citrix.

Loveys says the selection of Cortex by Unisys to support one of its global cloud services offerings is a major sales milestone for the Cortex product.

"We're delighted that Unisys has selected Cortex to support its unique cloud offering. Our success in winning this business is evidence of our leadership in provisioning and managing large enterprise-level customers, as well as smaller companies. That speaks to our technical strengths around customer self management, multi-tenanting, and the breadth and depth of applications we support."

He says the Unisys sale is part of a strong increase in market demand from large international providers of hosted services as the cloud computing model gains momentum.

"This demand has seen EMS Cortex increase its customer numbers by more than 40 percent over the past 12 months, with sales in Australia, Europe, the UK and the US.

Flagship customers include Telecom New Zealand and Australia's largest web and application hosting company, WebCentral."

Unisys unveiled its cloud computing strategy - with the Secure Cloud Solution as a core component - on June 30.

The Unisys strategy enables clients to choose the type of datacentre computing services that best meet their business objectives, from self-managed private clouds to Unisys-managed cloud services as well as hybrid solutions.

EMS Cortex is part of the Auckland-based Enprise Group, which develops software modules to add on to SAP's BusinessOne ERP software.

- © Fairfax NZ News