Unisys was created by the 1986 merger of Burroughs Corporation and Sperry Corporation.
The merger joined two major American computer manufacturers. Burroughs was known for business computing systems, while Sperry marketed computers under the UNIVAC name. The new company combined their operations and adopted the name Unisys.
The name was formed from “universal” and “systems,” reflecting the company’s ambition to provide integrated computing products and services. Unisys continued developing mainframes, enterprise software, and information-technology services after the merger.
A common mix-up is confusing Unisys with UNIVAC. UNIVAC was a computer brand associated with Sperry, whereas Unisys was the company created by the Burroughs–Sperry combination. The merger was one of the largest technology-industry combinations of the 1980s.