IBM Software Provides Foundation for Nortel’s New Management Solutions For Service Providers

TORONTO – IBM [NYSE: IBM] and Nortel* [NYSE/TSX: NT] today announced a new way for service providers to control network operations, reduce costs and deliver new high-bandwidth services, such as video and streaming media, across their networks. To help service providers achieve this competitive edge, IBM software is being embedded as an essential building block for a new network management platform from Nortel.

Nortel is embedding IBM’s Tivoli Netcool software as the foundation of its new Common Management Platform, designed to deliver greater network control capabilities with a common feature set across the entire family of Nortel’s service provider solutions. This new platform provides critical capabilities essential for service provider network operations, including a hardened security framework, a common set of network management applications, and a common service assurance suite.

Nortel’s Common Management Platform, built upon the IBM Tivoli Netcool framework, will provide consistency and a standard operational model across Nortel’s Carrier Networks and Metro Ethernet Networks portfolios.

The first Nortel service provider solution to launch with the IBM-powered enhanced management platform is Nortel’s Metro Ethernet Manager, the network and service management system created for Nortel’s Metro Ethernet solution based on the innovative Provider Backbone Transport (PBT) technology. The newly enhanced Metro Ethernet Manager, in combination with PBT technology, delivers a powerful solution that will allow providers to effectively operate their networks while meeting strict Service Level Agreements and maximizing service availability.

“We are enabling significant operational savings for our service provider customers as they migrate to Ethernet while also bringing the best of the circuit-based operational model they are accustomed to with Nortel management solutions,” said Scott McFeely, Metro Ethernet Networks business leader for Nortel. “The selection of Netcool as the foundation of the Common Management Platform ensures access to leading fault and event management as well as service assurance capabilities that are essential to meeting Service Level Agreements our customers are demanding today.”

Independent analyst firm OSS Observer recently ranked IBM as the worldwide leader for Fault and Event Management for operations support systems which includes fixed, mobile and broadband segments(1).

Nortel’s Metro Ethernet Manager delivers the essential fault, configuration, and performance management capabilities required by service provider network operations teams yet simplifies the job of managing a large-scale carrier grade Ethernet network. This helps service providers capitalize on the performance, bandwidth, and cost benefits Ethernet affords.

“Nortel’s enhanced management platform will bring a completely new approach to delivering network management solutions for service providers,” said Craig Farrell, CTO of Tivoli Netcool for IBM. “We are excited to see customers embrace Nortel’s first carrier solution of many that will include the new IBM-powered management platform.”

Metro Ethernet Manager, with integrated Netcool base security and application framework, will be demonstrated next week in Orlando at the IBM booth at the Nortel Inform Users Group Conference.

Nortel’s Metro Ethernet Manager is generally available now. Additional Nortel Service Providers solutions with the new Common Management Platform are expected to roll out throughout 2007.

About IBM Tivoli Netcool Software
IBM Tivoli Netcool software has been selected by more than 1,000 service providers globally, including all 20 of the Top 20 carriers. The software enables service providers to help to ensure quality, reduce operational costs and speed time to market for service providers. Vallent further extends IBM’s ability to help service providers address emerging opportunities in next generation network transformation, fixed/mobile convergence, and IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) deployment. The combination of Tivoli Netcool and IBM’s service management technology provides customers with a comprehensive approach for reducing the complexity of their network requirements, lowering operational costs and addressing compliance.

For more information about Tivoli Netcool software, visit http://www-306.ibm.com/software/tivoli/solutions/service-provider/.**

About IBM
More information on IBM can be found at www.ibm.com.**