IBM strengthened its alliance with Cisco this week, announcing it will join with Cisco to sell IBM's stable of host integration software to Cisco's customers. The software provides Web access to data residing on host systems.
Also announced Wednesday: IBM's host integration products are now officially certified as part of Cisco's Enterprise Associates Program, which ensures they have been tested for interoperability. Those host products now certified include IBM's Host On Demand, IBM's Personal Communications package, and IBM's Host Publisher.
"With this deal we are saying that we believe there is more growth in the Web-to-host market. This will also enable us to reach other accounts and to extend out our distribution channel. It also gives Cisco access to IBM customers that they hadn't had previously," said Ed Harbour, director of connected e-business marketing, IBM Transformation and Integration Software Group in Research Triangle Park, N.C.
As part of the deal Cisco users who purchase, or who have purchased a TN3270 server are now eligible to receive free of charge 50 licenses of IBM's Host On Demand, a product that provides users with Java-based terminal emulation through browsers.
Believing that about 80 % of the world's business data now reside on IBM mainframes, a figure that some analysts believe has been climbing during the past few years, IBM officials think this deal will help maintain that figure.
"What we are seeing is not just legacy data growing on mainframes, but there is a lot of consolidation going on with things like the consolidation of mid-tier server farms," Harbour said. "With that much data up on hosts, e-businesses need simpler ways to extend data to their intranet, extranet, and Internet users," he said.
Cisco users interested in gaining Host On-Demand licenses can go to www.cisco.com/warp/public/cc/ cisco/mkt/works/applic/tnserve. Information about IBM's host based integration software can be obtained at http://www.ibm.com/software/network/hostintegration or through IBM's central software site at http://www.ibm.com/software.
Cisco Systems Inc., of San Jose, can be found at www.cisco.com. IBM Corp., of Armonk, N.Y., is at http://www.ibm.com.
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