IBM- Greif Chooses IBM Over HP to Power Corporate Transformation

ARMONK, NY -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 12/06/2004 -- IBM announced today that Greif, Inc., a worldwide leader in industrial packaging with over 160 operating locations in more than 40 countries, will consolidate their computing infrastructure onto an IBM eServer i5 570 system. By replacing HP and other systems with IBM, Greif expects to save up to 40 percent in infrastructure costs while dramatically improving systems management.

"The eServer i5 570 system rapidly improves the rate at which Greif can integrate operations into its IT infrastructure which is critical to support the company's growth objectives," said Ken Andre, global director, business information services for Greif, Inc. "Our partnership with IBM will help us to meet aggressive business transformation goals."

Introduced in May, 2004, the eServer i5 system is the first server in the industry built with IBM's revolutionary POWER5 microprocessor technology. Using IBM's Virtualization Engine technology and multiple operating system support, Greif is one of the first customers to consolidate and manage its UNIX solutions on the eServer i5 platform, utilizing the server's recently introduced ability to natively run AIX 5L alongside i5/OS.

"Industry leaders like Greif are concerned with growing their business and meeting customer demands reliably," said Mike Borman, General Manager, IBM eServer iSeries. "The IBM eServer i5 platform provides customers with a cost effective, flexible and easy-to-use system that lets customers focus on driving growth, not managing their IT network."

After a series of acquisitions, Greif, a 127-year-old company based in Delaware, Ohio, is seeking to transform its business, improve packaging and customer service and reduce costs by consolidating its computing infrastructure. Greif chose the IBM eServer i5 570 server because of its consolidation capabilities and its ability to support the move to a single instance global ERP. Additionally, the server's reliability and price/performance comparison to other platforms enabled Greif to gain an advantage within the industry. The company is currently using 8 out of a total of 16 processors supported on the eServer i5 570 platform.

Greif realized additional cost savings by leveraging the IBM and SSA Global Strategic Alliance. Greif was able to consolidate two SSA Global enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems onto the IBM eServer i5 platform. Greif purchased the eServer i5 server through Sirius, an IBM Premier Business Partner and SSA Global's preferred IBM hardware vendor in the United States. The strong relationship between all companies is another reason Greif selected the eServer i5 570 platform.

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