IBM Corp and Sears, Roebuck & Co yesterday formally inaugurated their Advantis networking technology partnership yesterday with the signing of the final contract between IBM and Sears – IBM signed the agreement through its wholly owned Integrated Systems Solutions Corp subsidiary, which will hold a majority interest in Advantis; the new company begins operations with an extensive customer base that includes both IBM and Sears, and their affiliated companies, as well as more than 9,000 US customers supporting more than 1m users; it combines two of the world’s largest information networks into one company, providing network access from 650 cities in over 90 countries through affiliates worldwide and has a staff of 3,000 networking professionals; it is headquartered in Schaumburg, Illinois; there was no word of an expected major multi-million dollar contract with Ford New Holland, a former unit of Ford Motor Co, now part of Fiat SpA; a Fiat spokesman confirmed to Reuter that there is a contract with IBM but he did not have any details.
