The VAR Guy

Sometime later this year, The VAR Guy suspects, Cisco Systems will announce a more aggressive ISV (independent software vendor) partner initiative. Among the key potential partners: Microsoft. Indeed, there are signs the two tech titans plan to work more closely together on a range of fronts — especially within corporate data centers leveraging the Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS). Here’s the update.

Back in February 2011, Cisco hired Microsoft veteran Rex Backman as a global solutions marketing manager. Located in Seattle near Microsoft’s headquarters, Backman is part of a Cisco team focused on business application relationships. The Cisco applications team is working hard to ensure Oracle, SAP, Microsoft and other ISVs certify their applications to run on the Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS), which combines server, networking and storage into an integrated solution.

Admittedly, Cisco and Microsoft must both compete and cooperate. Back in 2007, Cisco CEO John Chambers essentially declared war against Microsoft’s unified communications efforts. At the time Chambers stated:

“Microsoft has given us a three-year lead. And we’ve never lost a game when we’ve had a three-year lead… It’s a battle we fully intend to win.”

United By Challenges… And Opportunities

Fast forward to the present. The unified communications battle between Microsoft and Cisco never turned into a full-scale war. Instead, both tech giants have been attacked by disruptive rivals. Cisco has its hands full battling Hewlett-Packard and Juniper; and Microsoft is preoccupied battling Apple, Google, Oracle, VMware and more.

The recent results:

• Cisco CEO John Chambers recently conceded that the company has made some missteps, and Cisco has shut down its consumer Flip video camera business while introducing a  voluntary early retirement program that runs through mid-2011.
• Microsoft, meanwhile, saw Windows 7 sales fall 4 percent in its most recent quarter. Not good.

Simply put: Cisco and Microsoft need each other right now. Sales in Microsoft’s server and tools business rose a healthy 11 percent during the company’s most recent quarter. Jointly promoting Exchange, SharePoint, Lync and other Microsoft apps to run on Cisco’s UCS system could give both companies a boost.

Still, the Cisco-Microsoft relationship will remain a delicate one — especially since Cisco works so closely with VMware on the VCE initiative.

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