The offering encompasses Business Process Services (BPS) and Web Services delivered by, what EDS terms, "an industrial-strength agile infrastructure." According to some industry analysts, the company has implemented its vision of the infrastructure layer faster than competitors.

Doug Frederick, EDS EVP, boldly claimed that “hardware vendors are pushing utility computing on their terms [and] their hardware...This is our party, we set the table two years ago and continue to consistently serve our clients on their terms.”

EDS’ agile infrastructure architecture encompasses services at three levels:

* Hardware infrastructure -- the capability to deliver utility computing to clients in a secure and recoverable environment.

EDS recently launched a new capability within its data center infrastructure, facilitated by Ejasent software, enabling real-time metering of the amount of processing power used and allocating processing power based on client needs. It also uses Opsware technology to automate the management of complex computing environments within one of the world’s largest IT infrastructures.

* Web Services and Applications -- a standardized way to develop and deploy enterprise software applications.

This approach allows applications on different platforms and in various enterprises to interact with minimal effort. It aims at reduced integration costs and greater agility in how companies adapt to change.

* Business Transaction and Process Services -- transaction-based processing and the industry’s best people, processes, consulting and IT services.

These services include check processing, credit card processing, claims processing and invoice processing at the transaction level.

“Agility is the capacity of an enterprise to anticipate changing market dynamics, adapt to those dynamics, and accelerate enterprise change to create economic value,” said Frederick. “EDS is second to none in evaluating a client’s level of agility, and identifying solutions to help them deliver value for stakeholders.”