IBM Corporation (NYSE: IBM)
today announced that it has signed a five-year strategic agreement to provide
Applied Materials,
Inc., the global leader in nanomanufacturing technology solutions, with
information technology (IT) application development and maintenance services.
Under the agreement, IBM will be responsible for software application development,
support and deployment. It will help centralize application support and increase
efficiencies for Applied by providing a stable, flexible and scalable IT platform
for its worldwide operations.
"As the leading provider of equipment to manufacture semiconductors, flat
panel liquid crystal displays and solar photovoltaic cells, we depend on world-class
operations within our enterprise," said Ron Kifer, Group Vice President
and Chief Information Officer at Applied Materials. "Information technology
is a critical enabler of our business, and we selected IBM because it has the
technical capabilities and portfolio of services to meet these needs worldwide."
IBM will provide Applied with an innovative service management framework that
includes: application development, diagnostic and issue resolution support,
database monitoring, security and controls monitoring, performance services,
batch scheduling and data interface monitoring.
"In today's economy, our clients are looking for new ways to increase their
IT efficiencies, and they are looking to service providers they can count on
to help balance costs and system performance requirements," said Frank
Kern, IBM Global Business Services. "With IBM's capabilities in application
development and through its global delivery centers, we can help Applied Materials
realize its business objectives."