-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SUN MICROSYSTEMS AND KODAK SIGN CUSTOMER SERVICE AGREEMENT SunFLASH Vol 14 #10 February 1990 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. --February 7, 1990-- Sun Microsystems, Inc., and Eastman Kodak Company today announced the signing of an agreement under which Kodak's Customer Equipment Service Division (CESD) will extend Sun's delivery of hardware-related customer service in central and western regions of the United States. Operated under the Sun U.S. Customer Service "Strategic Partner Program," the agreement will double the number of field engineers available for on-site hardware maintenance calls for Sun equipment. Sun will maintain complete responsibility for customer service contracts, management of service calls, escalation of services and technical service follow-up. Kodak's extensive customer service organization will be utilized to provide Sun customers with expanded support. The Kodak CESD organization has more than 7500 field engineers worldwide. These include personnel responsible for servicing Kodak products used for electronic imaging and publishing, document management, and document storage and output. Recognized as a provider of quality service, CESD has been a winner of Datapro's highly regarded service awards for the last nine years. In addition, Kodak has extensive expertise with Sun products, both as a user and as a system integrator. Kodak field engineers have received full training for service on all Sun systems, including training in UNIX(R), networking, maintenance and system administration. "This innovative approach to providing quality customer service is very consistent with Sun's business model," said Brenda Adams, vice president of U.S. Customer Service at Sun. "By establishing agreements with existing high-quality service organizations like Kodak's, we are able to give our customers more universal coverage and more responsive service, including remote locations that Sun could not staff economically. "This program allows Sun to quickly expand its geographic sales and service coverage and provide better support to customers who have chosen Sun's direct service channel," Adams noted. The program was well received by Sun customers during a test period prior to its formal launch. Faster customer response and repair time are expected under the program because of expanded service engineering resources and Kodak's extensive geographic coverage in the Central and Western United States. Sun plans to announce additional strategic partnership agreements for other regions of the U.S. in 1990. "With the sharp increase in integrated systems and multivendor environments, agreements such as this will become common in the industry. Kodak looks forward to working with Sun in delivering the highest-quality service to Sun customers," said Edward V. Ince, vice president and general manager of Kodak's Customer Equipment Service Division. "This is a win-win situation for all parties. Sun customers are assured of responsive, professional service, Sun gains the support of a highly qualified service organization without incurring an additional fixed-cost infrastructure and Kodak enhances its service revenues." Eastman Kodak Company of Rochester, N.Y. -- In addition to being a major manufacturer of Photographic, Chemical, and Health Products -- is also a major supplier of Office Automation Products including network-based document image management systems. Sun Microsystems, Inc., headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., is a leading worldwide supplier of network-based distributed computing systems, including professional workstations, servers and UNIX operating system and productivity software. UNIX is a registered trademark of AT&T. Press Contact: Kim Miller (415) 336-7583 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Sunflash is an electronic mail news service from Sun Microsystems, Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Please address comments to John McLaughlin (sun!sunvice!johnj or johnj@sunvice.sun.COM). (305) 776-7770.