biz.yahoo.com
Wednesday May 6, 8:02 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Sun Microsystems Receives Multi-Million Dollar Order for Ultra
Workstations From PTC
PTC Reinforces Commitment to Sun Solaris Operating Environment
PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 6, 1998--Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ:SUNW - news) and
Parametric Technology Corporation (Nasdaq:PMTC - news; NASDAQ:PMTC - news; PTC) today jointly announced that
PTC has reinforced its commitment to Sun(TM) workstations and the Solaris(TM) operating environment as a primary
demonstration and development platform.
In addition, the companies look forward to further strengthening their strategic relationship as PTC expands its enterprise
information systems presence with technologically advanced information management and product development solutions.
PTC has signed a multi-million dollar deal for over 400 Sun dual and uni-processor Ultra(TM) 60 workstations, to be equipped
with either Sun Elite3D or Creator graphics accelerators. This purchase represents a significant portion of PTC's UNIX
workstation needs for this year.
PTC will use the systems in the development of its popular Pro/ENGINEER family of software tools, used for computer-aided
design (CAD)/computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) and computer-aided engineering (CAE) applications, and for
demonstration purposes. Sun workstations currently hold the single largest market share in PTC's installed base.
''We see our partnership with Sun as increasingly important as we move into enterprise applications,'' said C. Richard Harrison,
president and chief operating officer at Parametric Technology Corporation. ''Our combined history of innovation in our
respective markets, along with Sun's leadership role in the technical workstation market, its strong position in the server and ERP
markets, and Java technology, make the PTC-Sun solution a powerful combination.''
''We have a strong 12 year alliance with Sun Microsystems,'' according to Edwin Gillis, executive vice president of finance and
administration, chief financial officer and treasurer at Parametric Technology Corporation. ''As a leading workstation provider,
Sun has consistently given us excellent price/performance.''
''Despite the hype about NT in the mechanical design and engineering market, Sun is truly thriving. PTC's continued commitment
to Sun and the Solaris operating environment tells us we're providing the price/performance, flexibility and scalability our
customers need,'' said Mark Tolliver, vice president of market development at Sun.
''Sun's turbo-charged graphics, scalable product line, and network computing capabilities give PTC the horsepower to develop
products that meet the demands of large enterprise design groups in the automotive, aerospace, and industrial equipment
industries worldwide.''
A Powerful Alliance for Enterprise Information Systems
Sun and PTC expect to strengthen their relationship further through PTC's product development and enterprise information
management solutions, which include the recently announced Windchill enterprise information technology products, based on a
native Web architecture and Java(TM) technology.
As engineering workgroups extend beyond the walls of the manufacturing enterprise to encompass suppliers and other
participants in the global supply chain, Sun's server and Java technologies will be key to providing the information systems
infrastructure required to support large-scale projects on a worldwide basis.
''Our Windchill products give our customers a significantly faster way to achieve mission-critical enterprise PDM objectives,''
stated James Heppelmann, senior vice president of PTC's Windchill division. ''We see our relationship with Sun as extremely
strategic in the enterprise information market.''
The Ultra(TM) Workstation Family
The Ultra workstation family of products meets all of today's requirements for the new age of engineering and design, with plenty
of room for growth now and into the future. The Ultra workstations and accelerated graphics products introduced earlier this year
allow Sun to better address the needs of technical users looking for systems that match their requirements for power and
performance.
In addition to the Ultra 30 and Ultra 60 workstations, the Ultra computing line includes two new low-priced, power desktop
systems -- the Ultra 5 and Ultra 10 workstations -- designed to appeal to the growing base of desktop users who are clamoring
for more power and greater reliability than they can get from similarly-priced PC workstations.
''For reliability, the combination of Pro/ENGINEER running on Sun makes a very stable platform,'' said Rod Nehring, director of
Engineering Information Processes at Cummins Engine Corporation. ''This becomes increasingly important as we continue to
compress the engineering cycle...downtime is not an option anymore.''
Powerful Graphics Capabilities
The Ultra 60 multiprocessor workstation, designed for mechanical and electrical design engineers and other performance-hungry
users, takes advantage of the powerful Sun Elite3D graphics accelerator for the Ultra family. Sun Elite3D systems are ideal for
power users such as PTC who need performance and functionality beyond that provided by most low- and mid-range systems,
such as multiple high performance frame buffers, large memory footprints, and extremely fast I/O.
A single-processor Ultra 60 with this advanced graphics accelerator offers more than double the graphics performance at less
than one half the price of SGI's Octane R1000 MXE workstation. The Ultra 60 with the Sun Elite 3D graphics accelerator
delivers a CDRS 3D graphics performance benchmark of 125, renders 5.9 million triangles per second, and is list priced at
$20,880. By contrast, SGI's Octane R1000 workstation has a CDRS of 55.5, renders 2.2 million triangles per second, and sells
for more than $47,000.
The cost-effective Creator graphics systems from Sun provide great graphics performance for two and three dimensional graphics
and imaging. Creator graphics use Sun's unique visual instruction set (VIS(TM)) to accelerate graphics, video and image
processing to deliver high-resolution, quality images to design professionals.
About PTC
Parametric Technology Corporation is one of the world's largest independent software companies and the CAD/CAM/CAE
industry's leading supplier of software tools used to automate mechanical development of a product from its conceptual design
through production.
Worldwide, nearly 20,000 companies employ PTC's integrated software technologies to reduce time to market, improve
engineering processes, and optimize product quality. Parametric Technology's growth strategy emphasizes technological
leadership, aggressive price/performance, hardware independence, worldwide distribution, and extensive customer support.
About Sun
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 WorldWide Web at sun.com.
Note to Editors: Sun, the Sun logo, Sun Microsystems, Solaris, Ultra, VIS, 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 United States and other
countries. Products bearing SPARC trademarks are based upon an architecture developed by Sun Microsystems, Inc. UNIX is
a registered trademark in the United States and other countries exclusively licensed through X/Open Company, Ltd. All other
companies and products referenced herein have trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
Press announcements and other information about Sun Microsystems are available on the Internet via the World Wide Web using
a tool such as Netscape Navigator or Sun's HotJava. Type sun.com at the URL prompt.
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