One of Cisco's most critical positions -- head of North American channels -- is vacant. It's the post that drives more than 90 percent of Cisco's North American sales ... the very lifeblood of Cisco's business. So here's the big question: Should Cisco promote from within? Or, as Cisco seeks to recruit more software partners, is it time to steal some channel talent from Microsoft? You can make a strong argument for either move. In fact, I did exactly that earlier today during a call with a Cisco senior VP. Here's how the conversation turned out.

First, some background. In mid-December, I met with a Cisco solutions provider in New York. We were discussing Cisco's vacant channel chief position -- VP of North American Channels. The former channel chief, Chuck Robbins, was promoted into a senior VP post to focus on commercial business (organizations with 1,500 or fewer employees). As Robbins organizes his commercial sales strategy, a replacement for the North American Channels post is expected to be announced by February or sooner, according to a company spokesman.

So, who would fill the vacant post? Wendy Bahr, another Cisco channel VP, is a natural choice, insisted the solutions provider. I agree. She knows Cisco's culture, partner network and priorities. But then the partner mentioned another option that caught my ear: Maybe it's time for Cisco to raid Microsoft for talent?

The reason: Cisco and Microsoft are locked in a unified communications battle. It positions Cisco VARs against Microsoft's independent software vendors (ISVs). Cisco CEO John Chambers says his company has a three-year lead over Microsoft in the unified communications space. And he wants to shift the center of the applications universe from Windows to the network. That's why Microsoft's ISVs are so critical to Cisco.

Microsoft is familiar with talent raids. The software giant in the 1990s raided Novell to build its channel; Borland to build its tools business; Digital to build the NT and database businesses; and the list goes on.

Is it time for Cisco to steal a page from the Microsoft game plan, and recruit a Redmond veteran to bolster Cisco's software presence in the channel?

During a phone chat earlier today, I asked Robbins about Bahr, Microsoft and the vacant position. He said everyone within Cisco thinks the world of Bahr. I should have asked about other internal candidates (oops, sorry), but instead asked about a possible hire from Microsoft.

Robbins said either option -- promoting Bahr or recruiting from Microsoft -- would make sense, though he didn't speculate about who ultimately would land the post.

Ultimately, hiring a Microsoft veteran is a far bigger gamble. Find the right person, and you could wind up with lots of ISVs in Cisco's camp. But Microsoft and Cisco have vastly different cultures. And Bahr is a proven commodity within Cisco. As one reader commented to me earlier today, the wisest choice may be to promote Bahr and hire a Microsoft veteran.

Of course, all of this speculation will be for naught if Cisco goes another route and recruits from another big vendor like HP or IBM. We'll have our answer in February or sooner, when Cisco finally announces its new North American channel chief.