Sun Micro Loses Government Computer Contract, Report Says

Sun Microsystems Inc. has lost a computer contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars with the National Security Administration after competitors complained that the machines did not meet government requirements, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Sun Micro, the world’s largest maker of computer workstations, beat out International Business Machines Corp., Silicon Graphics Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. for the contract, worth about $500 million to $900 million over five years, the newspaper reported in its Saturday editions.

The newspaper said Sun Micro confirmed that the NSA has stopped ordering its workstations and suspended the contract after the competitors complained.

Sun Micro also told the newspaper it hopes the contract will be reopened for bidding and that Sun will have another opportunity to compete. Sun Micro was not immediately available for comment.

Sun has been selling workstations since the late 1980s to the NSA, the nation’s largest intelligence agency. The agency was using the machines to enhance satellite images, the newspaper said.