Cisco, Microsoft Bury the Hatchet?
Cisco CEO John Chambers and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer plan to participate in a chat session with Charlie Rose on August 20, The VAR Guy hears. Hmmm. So what’s the upshot?
Cisco and Microsoft are cordial to each other, but they aren’t exactly the best of partners. Cisco wasn’t pleased when Microsoft got cozy with Nortel in the unified networks market. By April of this year, Chambers suggested that Cisco would ultimately compete with Microsoft, and declared that Cisco had a three-year-lead over Microsoft in the unified communications market.
But by July, that posturing had softened a bit. At the time, Chambers hinted that Cisco wanted to find new ways to work with Microsoft. He also conceded that partnering with Microsoft was a difficult process.
Could a new Cisco-Microsoft relationship — in the area of unified communications — surface soon? Or is next week’s chat with Charlie Rose merely a photo opp for the New York press? Hmmm. The VAR Guy will be watching. Closely.