Fujitsu enters into Siemens alliance

Fujitsu's decision to create a joint venture with German computing giant, Siemens AG has been met with consternation by UK industry commentators.

The companies announced their plan to create a jointly owned subsidiary - Fujitsu Siemens Computers BV - late last week, but the fact that Fujitsu owns one of Siemens' chief rivals, ICL, raised pundits' hackles over the motives behind what appears to be potentially a conflict of interest.

An ICL spokesman was adamant the deal doesn't present any problems: "ICL focuses on services not hardware which is the main market the Siemens/Fujitsu tie-up is aiming at."

Clive Longbottom, analyst at Strategic Partners, believes the deal is evidence of Fujitsu's struggle to identify a clear strategy in the European Market. "Although there is no real conflict in terms of hardware, Siemens clearly has a strong services side which could trouble ICL," he said.

Martin Brampton, consultancy director at Bloor Research, agreed that Fujitsu's direction seems to be confused. "I doubt Fujitsu has any clear strategy, they don't tend to worry too much about that sort of thing," he said. "But this is not necessarily a bad thing. Fujitsu is so big that it's inevitable and healthy to have internal competition."