Addressing the healthcare industry's need to manage growing volumes of medical images, IBM Corp. and Siemens Medical Solutions strengthened their bond and inked a global agreement to deliver medical imaging management systems for the healthcare industry.

Concurrent with the agreement, IBM and Siemens will jointly market Siemens Sienet Cosmos and Sienet Magic Imaging Management Systems running on IBM eServer and IBM TotalStorage platforms, including IBM 's open middleware.

On sales to new customers, Siemens said it will offer IBM as a "platform of choice" and continue to incorporate IBM products, including servers, storage and open middleware, into its product offerings. IBM said it will provide consulting, customization and integration services for joint IBM and Siemens systems.

The pair already has a history of working together and the companies said the new agreement enhances their existing relationship to jointly deliver systems and services to customers.