Tokyo, July 29, 2011 — Fujitsu announced the development and worldwide availability, starting today, of a new line of middleware products that are compatible with the Microsoft Windows Azure Platform⁽¹⁾ public cloud service and Fujitsu Global Cloud Platform (FGCP/A5) Powered by Windows Azure.

The new line of products delivers runtime environments for Java and COBOL, two application programming languages that are commonly employed in building mission-critical systems, in addition to providing functionality enabling central monitoring between on-premise systems and the Windows Azure Platform. This, in turn, enables enterprise customers to expand the use case scenarios for applications and to take the same applications developed for their highly reliable, on-premise mission-critical systems and run them on the Windows Azure Platform.

In addition, the new products will also be available from the Windows Azure Marketplace⁽²⁾ and will play an important role in expanding Fujitsu's middleware business on a global scale.

Background

Launched in 2010, the Windows Azure is a public cloud service that is currently employed by customers in 41 countries throughout the world.

Most applications deployed on the Windows Azure Platform typically use the Visual C# or Visual Basic .NET programming languages, while Java and COBOL account for a significant number of applications run on companies' mission-critical systems. By offering an application runtime environment for Java and COBOL on the Windows Azure Platform, Fujitsu is enabling customers to easily migrate the Java and COBOL applications employed on their on-premise systems to the Windows Azure Platform, helping them to more effectively leverage their existing application assets. Moreover, through familiar Java and COBOL development tools including Eclipse and Visual Studio, developers do not have to change the way they build applications.

In addition to the application runtime environment, Fujitsu will also be offering its enterprise market-tested middleware products, which deliver advanced functionality of system monitoring, operations automation, and other integrated management features.

As a result, a wide variety of customers seeking increased reliability—ranging from leading enterprises to medium-sized companies—will be able to take advantage of the Windows Azure Platform. Furthermore, by leveraging the Windows Azure Platform, companies can deploy applications and packages they have developed on a global scale.

"We are excited to see Fujitsu make these middleware offerings available, as another example of the ongoing work from our strategic partnership," said Bill Laing, corporate vice president of the Microsoft Server and Cloud Division. "Fujitsu is bringing great value to the Windows Azure Platform by delivering middleware that will enable enterprise developers to build and manage applications more easily on both Windows Azure Platform and the Fujitsu Global Cloud Platform FGCP/A5, Powered by Windows Azure.

New Windows Azure-Compatible Middleware Products

As detailed below, Fujitsu is announcing four new products.

1. Interstage Application Server V1 powered by Windows Azure: Provides the latest Java runtime environment for the Windows Azure Platform

Java EE 6-compliant Java applications can easily be migrated to the Windows Azure Platform. As customers can utilize the familiar Eclipse development environment, applications for the Windows Azure Platform can be built without changes to the development process.

2. NetCOBOL for .NET V4.2: Provides a COBOL runtime environment for the Windows Azure Platform

COBOL applications that comply with the latest COBOL standard can easily be migrated to the Windows Azure Platform. As customers can utilize the familiar Visual Studio development environment, applications for the Windows Azure Platform can be developed without changes to the development process.

3. Systemwalker Operation Manager V1 powered by Windows Azure: Coordinates job scheduling between on-premise systems and the Windows Azure Platform

Jobs can be scheduled for execution on the Windows Azure Platform from a company's on-premise servers. This product makes it possible for administrators to gain an across-the-board view of the execution status and results of jobs on the Windows Azure Platform from their on-premise servers.

4. Systemwalker Centric Manager V13.5: Central multiplatform system monitoring that includes the Windows Azure Platform

Using Systemwalker Centric Manager's integrated monitoring console, on-premise servers and the Windows Azure Platform can be monitored from the same place, thereby reducing the workload of operations administrators.

Operating Environment

The operating system is Windows Azure Guest OS which supports Windows Azure SKD 1.4