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TOKYO: Microsoft and NEC announced that both companies have entered a cross-licensing agreement to share each other's expertise to expand into the consumer and higher-end networking and server market. For over a decade, NEC has been at the forefront of consumer, server and networking technologies in Japan. Microsoft on the other hand, has significant market share in server and office related software. Microsoft told reporters that it plans to take its expertise in software and combine that with NEC's long running reputation in servers and networking to create a global initiative.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said that “[NEC] has also been the leader for the last 10 years consecutively in servers. We look forward to what we can do with their great technology in the future.” While NEC does not have a huge name over in North America, it is one of the largest electronics conglomerates in Japan.
Last year in May, Microsoft had announced a similar deal with Japanese electronics giant Toshiba. The deal allowed Toshiba and Microsoft to benefit from each other's respective technology strengths. According to NEC, partnering with Microsoft will enable it to bring more of its technologies onto a global scale, and for Microsoft to reach more markets with its productivity and server applications.
Some analysts expect Microsoft and NEC to jointly develop hand-held networking devices or other types of hardware. Prices were being estimated from $600 to $1000 depending on configuration. Other than current details, neither Microsoft nor NEC commented on exactly what they were working on together.
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