IBM-Led Consortium. Any thoughts?

[Anonymous]

This just in.  I haven't seen it posted so I thought I would.


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IBM-Led Consortium Signs Federal Contract to Develop NII Protocol  Sept. 16
CONTRACTS/VENTURES                                                 HPCwire
=============================================================================

A news release from IBM Corporation --

  Somers, N.Y. -- A consortium of organizations led by IBM has been awarded a
contract by the U.S. government to develop open industry software protocols
that will integrate computing environments across the U.S. manufacturing
base.

 The protocols, based on object-oriented technology using Distributed System
Object Model (DSOM) and System Object Model (SOM), will make it easy for
organizations of any size to share the same information so they can work
more cooperatively and efficiently on projects together.

  The Cooperative Agreement that was just signed with the U.S. Department of
Defense (DoD) calls for the development of National Industrial Information
Infrastructure Protocols (NIIIP) as part of the Technology Reinvestment
Project (TRP). NIIIP will allow disparate systems of different manufacturers
to be linked and exchange information real-time so companies can work as a
single, integrated "virtual enterprise" to address a business opportunity.
Much of the NIIIP work will be consolidating and "harmonizing" the many sets
of existing protocols, and then doing pilot projects and demonstration work
to prove the efficacy of the recommended approach.

  The NIIIP protocols are viewed by the DoD's Advanced Research Projects
Agency (ARPA) as one of the fundamental building blocks of the National
Information Infrastructure (NII). Since all U.S.  manufacturing companies
will be able to use the NIIIP protocols, the government expects that American
industry's competitiveness will increase with their use.

  The TRP is designed to link the best of America's defense and commercial
industries. TRP projects are intended to create "dual use" technologies that
have both military and commercial applications. They help defense firms make
the transition to commercial markets, prepare defense engineers and workers
for the manufacturing industries of the future, and help prepare commercial
firms to provide defense products in case of national emergencies.

  The $60 million project is made up of federal matching funds and existing
and incremental development costs, as well as in-kind funds from the
consortium members. The consortium members will invest more than half of the
total project costs.

  In addition to IBM, the other members of the consortium are: STEP Tools,
Inc.; Enterprise Integration Technologies; UES, Inc.; the University of
Florida; Texas Instruments Incorporated; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute;
Digital Equipment Corporation; Lockheed Aeronautical Systems Company; MESC
Electronic Systems, Inc.; International TechneGroup Incorporated; Taligent;
CAD Framework Initiative, Inc.; General Dynamics, Electric Boat Division and
the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

  The NIIIP proposal was sponsored by the IBM Manufacturing Industry and also
includes participation by the IBM Microelectronics Division, Software Solutions
Division, and the Networking Software Division. Their products include a broad
array of software, hardware, and integration services to provide concurrent
engineering and computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) that help manufacturers
reduce time to market, improve product quality and lower unit costs, while
meeting environmental and other international standards.

  As overall Program Manager, IBM will manage the system design, development,
and integration, as well as the establishment of commercial channels for
delivery of the project's resultant software products, planned for completion
in 1998. IBM also will be responsible for skills transfer through its CIM in
Higher Education Alliance, a nationwide IBM-sponsored organization consisting
of 97 U.S. colleges, universities and technical institutions.

  Selection of the IBM-led consortium's proposal from among the 2,850
proposals submitted is a significant endorsement of IBM's leadership in the
field of information technology with proven experience in creating open
software products, providing technical software support, and managing a broad
array of distribution channels.

  The DoD announced earlier this year that it had selected this consortium to
develop NIIIP under the TRP, but it held off formally approving the deal
until the Cooperative Agreement was reached.
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  921) Cray Research Inc.   902) IBM Corp.             906) nCUBE
  907) Digital Equipment    904) Intel SSD            *932) Portland Group
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Any thoughts? (In a vain attempt to attract people from RE: HIT MEN)

 _/_/_/  _/_/_/   _/  _/  _/_/_/      _/      _/  Disobedience is the true
_/       _/  _/   _/  _/  _/         _/_/     _/  foundation of liberty.
_/_/_/   _/  _/   _/  _/  _/_/_/    _/  _/    _/  The obedient must be slaves.
     _/  _/  _/   _/  _/  _/       _/_/_/_/   _/
_/_/_/   _/_/_/   _/_/_/  _/_/_/  _/      _/  _/_/_/      "Civil Disobedience"
              _/                                          (Thoreau)