Storage leader EMC and defense electronics giant Raytheon
will partner to provide IT systems to federal government customers.
While EMC does a respectable business with Washington, Raytheon has been inside the beltway for decades and carries clout with the Department of Defense and other agencies. Raytheon is also well-versed in the budgeting and bidding processes.
The pact comes as lawmakers are gaveling through billions of dollars to upgrade computer systems, with an emphasis on security and collaboration.
Planned offerings from EMC and Raytheon include: storage and server consolidation; operational continuity; information assurance; and high-performance computing.
“Raytheon has always been seen as a big supplier to the government,” Christine Westermann, an EMC spokeswoman told internetnews.com. “They aren’t always seen as an IT player, but they are.”
Westermann said EMC does 70 percent of its government business through systems integrators such as Raytheon’s Information Solutions unit.
The partnership between Hopkinton, Mass,-based EMC and Lexington, Mass.-based Raytheon, was announced at the SC2002 trade show in Baltimore.
Tom Anderson, a Raytheon Information Solutions vice president, said EMC’s “managablility and operational continuity” makes it an attractive partner.
EMC’s Automated Networked Storage, including open storage management software and networked storage systems, will be key to the offerings.