'U', IBM set to sign new contract

A first for both parties

The University and IBM are about to start what could be a beautiful friendship - even in the face of a looming computer crisis in the year 2000.

The budding relationship between the University, a major research institution, and IBM, a major corporation, is the first partnership of its kind for both.

Jose-Marie Griffiths, the University's chief information officer and executive director of Information Technology Division, said the five-year agreement, which is the first part of the University's Strategic Alliances program, has the potential to benefit both ITD and IBM on all fronts, from business to academic.

"It is a non-exclusive relationship," Griffiths said. "It's very flexible."

What that means, she said, is that the University, as well as IBM, can enter into other partnerships, and although she could not comment on the specifics, Griffiths said other negotiations are in the works.

The alliance program is designed to forge strong ties between the University and major technology corporations in several ways. A major business selling point for the University-IBM pact is that it will allow the University to save money on computer software and equipment.

But, Griffiths said, the research benefits both sides. The partnership serves as a conduit for researchers from both the University and IBM to exchange developing information and enhance research projects. "What IBM gets out of it is a relationship with a major research institution," Griffiths said.

The agreement will allow units throughout the University that may have had individual partnerships with IBM to engage in more broader interdisciplinary research, allowing more areas of the University to collaborate and benefit.

"If we can look at our institutional needs and have IBM view us as a whole institution, we can get more of a relationship than looking at the individual pieces," she said.

The University and IBM have already engaged in various projects, including one called high performance and parallel computing, which combines researchers from two disciplines. The University has a long history with IBM, whether it is in the form of graduate recruitment, fellowships or grants.

Griffiths said a steering committee composed of researchers and students, among other members, will be formed to guide the alliance.

The University and IBM plan to seal the deal Monday morning at 11:30 in room 2065 of the Fleming Administration Building.

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