MCI Selects Sun's Enterprise Servers to Deploy Business-Critical ERP
Applications Corporate Wide
Sun and SAP Chosen to Streamline MCI's Backoffice Financial and Procurement Activities Off its
Mainframe
PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 29, 1998-- Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ:SUNW - news) today
announced that MCI Communications Corporation [Nasdaq:MCIC - news], a leading creator and provider of communication
and information technology services, has made a multi-million dollar investment in systems and services to replace its financial
applications currently running on MCI's mainframe.
For its move to a client/server environment, MCI purchased Sun(TM) Enterprise(TM) 5000 and 6000 servers and the
Solaris(TM) operating environment to run the SAP R/3 solution and Oracle database.
In addition, MCI has hired Sun Professional Services' SAP Practice to assist with the accelerated SAP implementation. For the
first phase of its R/3 deployment on Sun systems, MCI will go into full production by this summer and will initially support about
1,000 SAP users.
''As a leader in a fast changing industry, MCI must adapt quickly to changing business conditions,'' said Albert George, vice
president of finance information services at MCI. ''Sun's flexible systems allow us to do that.
''Sun is also the leader in SAP performance at the high end, and is the most focused with its architectural components in
implementing R/3 -- providing excellent value with our core system. It was essential to MCI that we also have a team of
experts who could collaborate to integrate all the systems and software.''
''We are pleased that MCI selected Sun for this large R/3 implementation,'' said Mark Tolliver, vice president of market
development at Sun Microsystems Computer Company. ''Many of the world's largest telecommunications companies are
choosing Sun for their major SAP projects because we offer an unmatched combination of performance, scalability, reliability,
services and SAP expertise.''
Sun Professional Services Provides Client-Server Expertise
Sun Professional Services' consultants joined with MCI and other vendors to form an implementation team focused on an
accelerated implementation of SAP. As a key member of the project architecture group, Sun experts took a lead role in
creating and managing the detailed technical project plan.
The biggest technical challenge facing MCI was transitioning its core financial systems from a mainframe-centric environment to
an enterprise client-server infrastructure.
''Sun Professional Services provided us with expert help to transition from a mainframe to a distributed computing
environment,'' said Kevin Waugh, senior manager of SAP technology at MCI. ''MCI's platforms are designed to optimize both
short- and long-term performance, and Sun's in-depth knowledge of SAP, Solaris and Oracle has been instrumental in helping
us reach our goals.''
MCI's Systems Purchase
MCI has purchased one Sun Enterprise 6000 system for its production database server and three Sun Enterprise 5000 servers
for its production application servers to run its R/3 applications.
The company has also purchased five Sun Enterprise 5000 servers for test and development, quality assurance, production
staging and training. These Sun servers complement MCI's reliable and mission-critical systems.
About MCI
MCI, headquartered in Washington, D.C., is a leading provider of local-to-global communication services to business,
government and residential users. The company's fast-growing portfolio of advanced data, Internet and IT services now
accounts for nearly a quarter of MCI's $19.7 billion in annual revenue.
MCI operates one of the world's largest and most advanced digital networks, connecting local markets in the U.S. to hundreds
of locations worldwide. MCI has agreed to merge with WorldCom, one of the world's fastest-growing communications
companies.
The merger, which is expected to be completed in mid-1998, will create MCI WorldCom, a company uniquely positioned in
the U.S. local and long distance markets as well as the global data and Internet markets.
About Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision, ''The Network Is The Computer(TM),'' has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc.
(NASDAQ:SUNW - news), 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 $9 billion in annual revenues,
Sun can be found in more than 150 countries and on the World Wide Web at sun.com.
Note to Editors: Sun, the Sun logo, Sun Microsystems, Solaris, Sun Enterprise, and ''The Network Is The Computer'' are
trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries. UNIX is a registered
trademark in the United States and other countries, exclusively licensed through X/Open Company, Ltd.
Other product and company names herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. |
