Intel, Network Appliance ink $1 b. deal

NEW YORK: Intel Corp., the world's top computer chip maker, and Network

Appliance Inc., whose products help companies manage vast amounts of data,

entered a technology pact worth $1 billion over seven years, the companies said

on Friday.

Under the arrangement, Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Network Appliance will buy

Intel microprocessors and other components to be used in its data management

products.

Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel, for its part, will buy Network Appliance

systems for use in its data centers worldwide, and for managing billions of

dollars in sales over its Web site.

"We're working very hard to get at doing almost all of our business with

our suppliers via the Internet," Chuck Mulloy, an Intel spokesman, told

Reuters. Mulloy said Intel currently conducts sales of $2 billion per month over

its Web site.

The deal also includes a broad technology license, patent and purchasing

sharing agreement, as well as advanced technology development and joint

standards collaboration, the companies said.

Other financial terms of the deal, which extends a relationship begun in

1992, were not disclosed.

(C) Reuters Limited 2001.