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Telecom Giants Unveil SNA-to-Frame Relay Solutions

Sprint Corp. has signed on as an IBM Corp. Business Partner to work directly with Big Blue to revamp SNA networks for the Internet age. According to Sprint, representatives from both companies will oversee the integration of SNA networks with peer-to-peer networks featuring a variety of different protocols and operating system schemas. More important, Sprint says, it will work with IBM’s SNA consulting services to oversee the integration of enterprise SNA networks with its frame relay solutions.

The hope, Sprint says, is that enterprises will be able to integrate their SNA, client/server, Internet and intranet applications into one seamless network. "This is an ideal solution for companies running SNA who want to minimize the risk of migrating to an advanced data network solution," contends Sue Sentell, vice president of business marketing with Sprint.

The Sprint/IBM combination should provide IT organizations with end-to-end services in network design, migration planning, implementation planning and project management. In addition, Sprint also indicated that it will provide a variety of network management and monitoring services to oversee the day-to-day operation of the resulting SNA WAN.

Rob Zimmer, business line manager for service providers with IBM's networking hardware division, positions the Sprint/IBM initiative as a collaboration that should leverage the knowledge of each of both companies in their respective fields of expertise. "Sprint's frame relay offering effectively leverages IBM's SNA expertise, network consulting services and networking products for the benefit of customers who want to migrate their mission-critical business applications to a public frame relay network," he acknowledges.

About the Author

Scott Bekker is editor in chief of Redmond Channel Partner magazine.

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