EDS Extends Deal With Opsware

Opsware Inc., a provider of IT-automation software, has extended an agreement under which it provides software to IT-services provider EDS, Opsware said Tuesday. Under a licensing extension that runs through 2008, EDS has agreed to use Opsware software as part of its Agile Enterprise platform--a utility-computing architecture that also incorporates technology from Cisco Systems, Microsoft, and Sun Microsystems. The licensing renewal is worth about $50 million, Opsware says. The deal extends an initial agreement between EDS and Opsware that was set to expire next year.

Opsware's software is designed to automate a number of routine data-center management processes, as well as give IT managers a central point from which to monitor and control infrastructure elements such as servers and storage devices. EDS officials say those capabilities are key to their goal of lowering service costs for their hosting and outsourcing customers