EDS Prepares to Implement Service Oriented Architecture for Deutsche Lufthansa AG

PLANO, Texas and ZURICH, Switzerland, Nov. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- EDS is developing a middleware, messaging and security platform for Deutsche Lufthansa AG, a leading international airline, based on an application development and integration services contract awarded to EDS at the end of the second quarter of 2006.

This platform serves as the basis of the Lufthansa Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), enabling Lufthansa the ability to interface, interoperate and integrate with Lufthansa business partners and other airline systems through open standards.

The development of the application is slated for the end of December and the platform will be ready for acceptance and integration by Lufthansa in January 2007.

"We awarded EDS this contract because they delivered the best value based on their experience with their own Airline SOA," Christoph Ganswindt, CIO of Lufthansa Passage Airlines, said.

EDS' Airline SOA enables a transformation of an airline client's business IT environment to an agile enterprise architecture, aligning IT operations with business objectives. This architecture allows clients to meet market demands with minimal complexity within a fraction of time, thus saving money and gaining a sustainable competitive edge.

"At IDC, we see two main challenges to successful development and deployment of SOA-based solutions. First is the connection to industry and process-specific business goals, to go beyond the technology innovation to supporting business value. Second is the ability of the solution provider to assure the performance of the architecture in a multi-vendor platform," said Bob Welch, Group vice president for IDC, a leading IT industry analyst firm. "This announcement shows that the investments that EDS and its Agility Alliance partners have made in overall service management, and the embedded industry expertise EDS' Airline SOA brings to Lufthansa, have combined into a very competitive offering."

EDS Agility Alliance partners including, Oracle, Sun, EMC, Cisco and Microsoft, and technology alliance partners, TIBCO and BEA, play key roles in developing portions of the team Airline SOA solution.

"We are helping Lufthansa reduce costs and upgrade to more innovative technology," said Pierre Klatt, leader of EDS' EMEA Transportation industry group. "With more than 9,000 EDS employees serving the transportation industry, we have proven ability to deliver high-quality support for all aspects of airline environments."

As the leading airline IT services provider, EDS brings world-class technology solutions and infrastructure to help airlines and transportation customers sustain competitive advantage in a tightly constrained market.

About Deutsche Lufthansa AG

Deutsche Lufthansa AG ranks upfront among the world's leading airlines. As an Aviation Group, Lufthansa adheres firmly to economic and strategic criteria, focusing on the core competencies of its six business areas: passenger traffic, logistics, MRO, catering, leisure travel, and IT services. The Group attaches overriding importance to quality and innovation, safety and reliability. Learn more at http://www.lufthansa.com/ .

About EDS

EDS is a leading global technology services company delivering business solutions to its clients. EDS founded the information technology outsourcing industry more than 40 years ago. Today, EDS delivers a broad portfolio of information technology and business process outsourcing services to clients in the manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, communications, energy, transportation, and consumer and retail industries and to governments around the world. Learn more at http://www.eds.com/ .

CONTACTS: Blake Hull - EDS Plano Mark A. Saxer - EDS Zurich +1 972 605 5063 +41 43 813 5201 blake.hull@eds.com