Cisco and Microsoft team up to modernize Data Center

 At the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference, the networking giant Cisco has announced a multi-year sales and go-to-market agreement with Microsoft designed to modernize data centers through the delivery and acceleration of integrated solutions.
 
Building on a rich history of solution development, Cisco and Microsoft will both invest in sales, marketing and engineering resources to drive global alignment, while delivering deeper technology integration across cloud and data center markets. The companies will focus on integrating market-leading technologies, including Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS), Cisco Nexus switching and Microsoft Cloud OS solutions, including Windows Server, System Center, SQL Server and Microsoft Azure.
 
Cisco and Microsoft have agreed to a three-year go-to-market plan focussed on transforming data centers through the delivery of integrated solutions for enterprise customers and service providers. In the first year, the companies will focus on six countries – the United States, Canada, the UK, Germany, France and Australia – with expansion to additional countries in the following years. Cisco and Microsoft will align partner incentive programmes to accelerate solutions selling via mutual channel partners.
 
Frank Palumbo, Senior Vice-President, Global Data Center and Virtualization Sales, Cisco, said, “From innovative technologies and global brands to specialized channel partners, Cisco and Microsoft have the ingredients to transform the traditional data center. Now we are expanding our long-standing technical partnership with Microsoft with an aggressive global go-to-market and sales initiative. By providing our customers and partners with greater sales alignment and even deeper technology integration, we will help them transform their data centers and accelerate the journey to the cloud.”
 
Stephen Boyle, Vice-President, Worldwide Enterprise & Partners Group, Microsoft, said, “Enterprise customers worldwide are betting on Microsoft and Cisco to realize the benefits of our combined cloud and data center technologies. Now, together, we are strengthening our joint efforts to help customers move faster, reduce costs and deliver powerful new applications and services for their businesses.”
 
Cisco and Microsoft sales teams will work together on cloud and data center opportunities, including an initial program focussed on the migration of Windows 2003 customers to Windows 2012 R2 on the Cisco UCS platform.