For the past one year or so, with the number of purchases made by Microsoft in the realm of telephony, especially unified communications, coupled with seemingly increased acquisitions by Cisco Systems in the same space, there has been a lot of speculation, not just in the blogosphere, but also in the fishwraps and glossies, about matters between these two companies coming to a head.
The lack of mission statements from each company or attributable soundbites from C-level suits at both companies seemed to exacerbate the tension; leastways, as painted by the press, leading to fears by many a CIO about the direction, strategy, and investment, of their companies, in products from both companies.
Last week, Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, and Cisco Systems CEO, John Chambers got together for a little tête-à-tête and to convince a group of large-company CIOs that they had their eyes, and, by proxy, the eyes of their respective organizations on the ball.
At the summit, Microsoft Corporation and Cisco Systems, Inc. pledged to continue their tradition of cooperation and interoperability the following areas were highlighted:
Communications and Quad Play over the Internet
Business Collaboration in the Web 2.0 Era
Interoperability and Industry Standards
Customer Choice
Furthermore, the two behemoths outlined a new alliance aimed at creating interoperability in the following seven areas:
IT Architecture,Security,
Management,
Wireless & Mobile,
Unified Communications,
Connected Entertainment, and
Small and Medium-Sized Business (SMB)
Seeking to assuage the CIOs’ collective fears, Microsoft and Cisco made this very public show of togetherness in order to assure the CIOs that there wasn’t a Cold War brewing.
The very next day, the contents of a white paper by a forthright Microsoft functionary set the blogosphere afire!
In the whitepaper, the Microserf, Clint Patterson, states that Microsoft’s unified communications stack is superior to Cisco’s in voice quality and so on. (Read the article by the NetworkWorld’s Senior Editor for infrastructure, John Fontana, here.)
The response from the audience (blogosphere) was astonished silence.
Wasn’t this a breach of etiquette? A diplomatic faux pas?
Actually, no!
If you read the press release carefully, and in its entirety, you would understand my response.
In the document, and straight from the pie-holes of the respective CEOs, came the pledges to interoperate.
I-n-t-e-r-o-p-e-r-a-t-e!
Not to stop competing.
For indifferent journos and equally lazy bloggers, that pledge to interoperability was tantamount to disarming.
Erhhhh, no!
What the CEOs said, was, in effect, “We compete fiercely. In all those areas. However, we make sure that our products interoperate seamlessly, protecting the investments you have made in our technologies. (And, your jobs, though that remained silent)”
What did they say that led many a journo and blogger to think it was a cessation of hostilities?
Nothing!
All they said was that they would continue to fight, albeit encasing their strontium gauntlets in velvet gloves in order to minimize collateral damage, and reduce (IT) bloodshed.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the true battle in IT is just beginning.
You have two well-run, aggressive, ambitious, and rich companies.
The summit only served to make sure that CIOs were not lulled into thinking there was a unilateral disarmament by any of the sides.
There is no détente.
As they say in the ‘hood, it’s on!
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