Title

NX-01: Termination of Support of the LINC 16 Product

Background

Unisys has currently scheduled to terminate support for the LINC 16 Product in June of 2001. We realize that the current policy is to support the current release of the product and one previous release, however, in the case of the release of Enterprise Application Environment 3R1 (a.k.a. LINC 17.1) Unisys has failed to properly notify users of the availability of the new product and has not allowed enough time for migration to that product.

The standard procedure for new product release availability has been (for many, many years) via mailing of the new product release announcement and the proper instructions for ordering of that release. Unisys has not done this with the new release (3R1). It appears from our investigation that only a few users are actually aware that the new product is available.

UNITE Requirement

Unisys should do two things to rectify this problem:

1. Prepare a proper release announcement and mail (as has been the procedure) this to all eligible sites.

2. Upon the completion of this process extend the support for LINC16 to twelve months from the execution of this notification.

Unisys Response

At the UNITE user conference in October 2000 (and the UUA conference in May 2000), Unisys announced the availability of Enterprise Application Environment 3.1 (the new name for the LINC product suite) and described the phased release dates. To ensure that all customers have been formally notified, Unisys will distribute a letter to U.S. customers of record that states the actual release dates and provides instructions on how to obtain a copy of the release. The letter will be distributed no later than March 31, 2001.

Unisys has already extended the date for support of the 16.3/16R3 releases for all supported platforms, with the exception of 16.3 LINC for Windows NT, until December 2001. For LINC on Windows NT, we have extended support of the 16.4 release until December 2001. For the purposes of ensuring customer satisfaction, we agree to further extend the support termination date for these specified releases from December 2001 until the end of March 2002.

UNITE Response

UNITE accepts the Unisys response.

Title

NX-02: LINC User Migration to COBOL85

Background

This requirement is in response to the policy dated Wednesday, September 20, 2000, from Unisys Corporation concerning the migration program offered for ClearPath NX/LX and A-Series customers and the move to COBOL85.

For sites that are 100% LINC application development sites on NX/LX series machines and who do not utilize the COBOL compiler licensed on that machine for any other purpose than to generate LINC systems, the new requirement for Enterprise Application Development (LINC), release 3R1 to use the COBOL85 compiler in place of the previously licensed COBOL74 compiler and to require customers to purchase this new COBOL85 license is unacceptable.

One time charge licenses were sold with the understanding that a credit equal to 100% of the original cost could be applied towards the purchase of an upgraded product. The requirement for the use of COBOL85 and LINC has been generated by Unisys. For LINC application development sites, a compiler is a compiler. The migration policy letter from Unisys supports this same interpretation in that compilers are included in the SSU for the IOE (which customers purchased) and no change to SSU licensing is required.

UNITE Requirement

Unisys should provide a 100% credit for any investment made in the purchase of COBOL74, and apply that credit towards the purchase of COBOL85.

Unisys Response

The COBOL85 compiler is a new product and does not qualify as an upgrade for the COBOL74 compiler. As a result, the SSU for the IOE does not cover the COBOL85 compiler or provide for an upgrade to it at no additional charge. It is true that the 3.1 release of Enterprise Application Environment now requires the COBOL85 compiler to take advantage of the new A Series architecture that is generated for these applications. In order to ensure satisfaction for our customers that are “100% LINC shops”, Unisys is offering the following exchange.

For customers that only use the COBOL compiler for LINC applications, Unisys agrees to offer a credit of 100% of the original cost of the COBOL74 compiler on MCP platforms in return for a license for the COBOL85 compiler. No refund will be given if the amount of the credit is greater than the cost of the COBOL85 compiler license.

In order to take advantage of this offer, customers must return the COBOL74 compiler or provide proof of destruction within 180 days of receiving the software for the COBOL85 compiler. Customers are responsible for obtaining and maintaining a support (SURETY) agreement for each product during the overlap period. This offer will only be valid until the end of March 2002.

Unisys will distribute information on this exchange offer to the Unisys customer relationship executives (CRE) and/or portfolio sales executives (PSE) that are responsible for customers of record that use LINC (now Enterprise Application Environment). The CREs/PSEs will then be responsible for notifying their customers.

UNITE Response

UNITE accepts the Unisys response.