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LEAD Microsoft, Nihon Unisys to build Windows-based banking

Posted on: Sunday, 30 November 2003, 06:00 CST

TOKYO, Dec. 1 (Kyodo) -- (EDS: CHANGING ATTRIBUTION)

Microsoft Co., the Japanese arm of U.S. software giant Microsoft Corp., and Nihon Unisys Ltd. will jointly construct banking systems based on personal computer servers running the Microsoft Windows operating system (OS), sources close to the plan said Monday.

The planned systems will be the first of their kind in the global banking industry as proprietary software and the Unix-based OS are more common, and no banking system has ever been built entirely around Windows, industry observers say.

The two companies will announce their tie-up Tuesday, the sources said. They have already received an order from Hyakugo Bank, a regional lender based in Mie Prefecture, for a system to be up and running in 2007, the sources said.

Large replacement demand is expected as many of Japan's banks, which now operate mainframes running proprietary software, are expected to update their information systems.

The new Windows-based banking systems will cost around half as much to introduce and operate as mainframe systems and about 30% less than banking systems based on Unix servers.

Nihon Unisys, a major importer of computers, has years of experience building mainframe systems for regional banks. Working together, the two firms will apparently target Japan's many regional banks seeking low-cost ways to update their banking systems.

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