Unisys has released a new fabric computing platform it believes will address challenges with companies moving from proprietary Unix environments into the Cloud.

Forward by Unisys has been developed with Intel, and as such uses its Xeon family of processors and virtualization technology creating an industry-standard platform it said can handle demanding mission-critical computing challenges.

Unisys chairman and CEO Ed Coleman said the platform can cut capital expenses by 50 to 60% and reduce total cost of ownership by up to 40% compared to physical Linux or Windows environments.

The platform includes its secure partitioning (s-Par) technology providing a containerized server to execute specific workloads with dedicated processing, memory and I/O channels.

It also includes Unisys’ Stealth cyber-security solution which provides advanced data cloaking and encryption which ensures authorized users only can access cloaked resources.

“Organizations no longer need to choose between the predictability and security of proprietary system and the flexibility and cost savings of Linux and Windows systems,” Coleman said.

“With Forward by Unisys, they can choose one platform for their mission-critical workloads that gives them the performance and security that they need today while providing the flexibility to manage new applications and disruptive technologies as they emerge.”

 Unisys has connected the nodes of Forward through high-speed InfiniBand links for reduced latency and enhanced failover capabilities.

These can include different generations of computing resources and server nodes in data centers in distributed locations around the world to provide a scalable data center architecture.

A single pane for management has also been added to cover platforms and partitions, interconnects, internal storage in the fabric and extended computing infrastructure.

Unisys said the platform, which will be available in December this year, currently uses Intel Xeon E5 processors but it will include the E7 processors in future.

Basic configurations of the platform are priced from US$89,000, and Unisys is also basing service offerings around Forward.

Unisys has also announced that it is offering IT service management as a service (ITSMaaS) for its clients using the windows Azure Cloud Platform, anywhere in the world.

It said the solution provides IT support for employees and end users support with pre-built capabilities designed to simplify implementations.

“By offering Unisys ITSMaaS on Windows Azure, Unisys estimates clients can implement a full, ITIL v3-compliant solution in as few as 45 days compared with other cloud deployments, which typically take more than six months,” Unisys said.

The solution integrates with Microsoft Systems Center 2012 and can be used with the Unisys MyWork Services to create job distinctions for user groups based on profiles for support.