Today CGI and Sun Microsystems of Canada Inc. announced that they have signed a non-exclusive Direct Commercial Systems Integrator Agreement to conduct joint marketing and technical implementation activities to respond to the growing demand for e-commerce expertise, solutions and services throughout North America.
"This agreement will help accelerate our penetration in the e-business market," said Jean Brassard, President and Chief Operating Officer of CGI. "Sun Microsystems' proven network computing technologies will enable us to deliver solutions faster to our e-space customers. This is a highly competitive, mission-critical market that demands very fast implementation turnaround and proven technologies. And we certainly can deliver both by combining Sun™ technologies with our e-commerce and systems integration expertise."
According to the agreement, the two companies will team-up and combine CGI's extensive knowledge in the development and integration of e-commerce solutions with Sun's technical expertise and family of Sun Enterprise™ server products founded on the scalable Solaris™ Operating Environment (SPARC™ platform addition) platform.
"We are pleased to have an organization of CGI's calibre become a Sun Authorized Commercial Systems Integrator. The signing of the agreement represents CGI's vote of confidence in our technologies, products, services and people," remarked Everett Anstey, president of Sun Microsystems of Canada Inc. "With CGI's integration expertise and our suite of network computing technologies such as our SPARC architecture, Solaris Operating Environment, and Java™ platform, we can deliver the .com advantage to organizations which require the IT infrastructure to succeed in the Net economy."
As one of the pioneers of the Internet, Sun Microsystems assumes a leadership role among Internet technology players. Eighty percent of Internet applications and 15 of the top twenty Internet Service Providers worldwide run on Sun systems.
CGI currently draws approximately 20% of revenue from electronic business activities - described as e-space by CGI. CGI's key industry sectors include telecommunications and financial services as well as manufacturing to retail value chain and government sectors as well as public utilities and services.
About Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision, "The Network Is The Computer ™," has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ: SUNW), to its position as a leading provider of high quality hardware, software and services for establishing enterprise-wide Intranets and expanding the power of the Internet. With more than US $11.5 billion in annual revenues, Sun can be found in more than 150 countries and on the World Wide Web at www.sun.com.
About CGI
CGI is the fifth largest independent information technology consulting firm in North America and the largest in Canada, based on its revenue run rate of CDN$1.5 billion. The company's order backlog totals approximately CDN$7.5 billion. CGI has 10,000 professionals and provides end-to-end IT services and business solutions to 2,500 clients in Canada, the United States and 23 countries around the world. CGI's shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (GIB), as well as on the Toronto and Montreal exchanges (GIB.A). They are included in the Toronto Stock Exchange's TSE 300 Composite and TSE 100 indexes. Web site: www.cgi.ca.
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For more information:
CGI
Ronald White
Investor and Media Relations
(514) 841-3230
ronald.white@cgi.ca
Sun Microsystems of Canada Inc.
Susan Stuart
Public Relations
(905) 415-7903
susan.stuart@canada.sun.com
All statements contained in this or any other press release of CGI Group Inc., or in any document filed by the Company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or in any other written or oral communication by or on behalf of the Company, that do not directly and exclusively relate to historical facts, constitute "forward looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Report Act of 1995. These statements represent the Company's expectations and beliefs, and no assurance can be given that the results described in such statements will be achieved.
This press release may contain forward looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding the outlook for the company's business and results of operations. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated. Such factors include, without limitation, the various factors set forth in the Company's annual report or Form 40F filed with the SEC and its Annual Information Form filed with Canadian securities commissions, which important factors are included here by reference.
Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo, Solaris, Sun Enterprise, Java and The Network Is The Computer are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All SPARC trademarks are used under license and are trademarks or registered trademarks of SPARC International, Inc. in the US and other countries.
