Tom Cooper, vice president of worldwide channels for JBoss, said the previous two-year partnership deal with Unisys provided a solid framework and working relationship. 'Ultimately, Unisys will be bringing additional demand to JBoss and expanding our reach,' he said. 'They are very well established around the world.'

Under the deal, core competency centers have been created by the partners where prospective customers can come in and benchmark and test their enterprise applications using JBoss applications. 'Making that kind of investment is not something to be taken lightly,' Cooper said. 'It shows a major commitment by Unisys to open-source' software, and helps JBoss with introductions to customers in a wider variety of industries and global markets, he said.

The agreement will also expand the collaboration between the two companies on customer education, marketing and sales, as well as increase Unisys' presence on JBoss' OEM/ISV Customer Advisory Board.

The Unisys deal isn't the only one where JBoss will apparently be extending its global reach. Last month, Linux vendor Red Hat Inc. announced plans to acquire JBoss for at least US$350 million, giving Red Hat wider access and integrations with JBoss' products.