Unisys Government Systems Division Wins $700 Million DOD Desktop III Contract

MCLEAN, Va., Nov. 21, 1989 -- PRNewswire -- Expanding on information released by the Department of Defense (DOD) on Friday, Unisys (NYSE: UIS) said today that its Government Systems Division has been awarded a contract valued at approximately $700 million with all options exercised.

The potential five-year contract, with an initial two-year value of $233 million, could be expanded to a total of up to 250,000 workstations.

The contract is for microcomputer systems and is commonly known as the "Desktop III" award.

The initial contract is for two years and $233 million. It specifies the purchase of approximately 75,000 Unisys Personal Workstation 2 (PW2) series microcomputers based on Intel microprocessor technology, peripherals, software, technical support and maintenance. With all options exercised, the number of units could expand to approximately 250,000. Unisys manufactures its PW2 workstations at its plant in Flemington, N.J.

The systems will run a UNIX operating system that is POSIX compliant, supplied by Santa Cruz Operation, and the MS-DOS operating system, supplied by Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT). "This is a major expansion of the use of the UNIX operating system for desktop applications," said Joseph Tucci, president, Unisys U.S. Information Systems. "This order reaffirms our aggressive growth plans in the open systems area. We expect the move toward UNIX OS to continue to grow in both the government and commercial business sectors." Unisys, with a $2 billion open systems business, is a founding member of UNIX International and a leading supplier of UNIX System V systems for office and commercial applications.

The new systems will be ordered by the government as replacements and additions to its currently installed base of microcomputers. With this competitive award, Unisys has the potential to become a de facto standard supplier of microcomputer hardware, software and maintenance for the U.S. government.

The award is a Firm Fixed Price "indefinite delivery-requirements" contract, which does not specify a fixed delivery schedule, but does require the Air Force to use this contract when acquiring this class of equipment. The contract is optional for the Army, Navy, other DOD and civilian agencies of the U.S. government.

Desktop III is managed by the Air Force Small Computer Office of the Headquarters Standard Systems Center, Gunter Air Force Base, Ala.

Unisys Corp. is a $10 billion manufacturer and integrator of commercial information systems, defense systems and related services. It has more than 80,000 employees and 60,000 customers in more than 100 countries. Its Government Systems Division, which sells commercial hardware and software to government agencies, is based in McLean, Va.

UNIX is a registered trademark of the American Telephone and Telegraph Co. (NYSE: T). MS-DOS is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp.

CONTACT: Charlotte LeGates of Unisys, 215-542-4213/ 12:20 EST