Cisco, IBM Team Up On Data Center Offerings

Cisco and IBM announced today some tangible fruits of their previously announced strategic alliance, including a Cisco Gigabit Ethernet switch module for the IBM eServer Blade Center chassis.

The companies also said that they have more closely integrated Cisco hardware with IBM software management tools, to better allow enterprises to combine IBM and Cisco elements in their infrastructures. The new offerings are scheduled to be available in June, just about the time potential customers finish deciphering the official name for the program: The Cisco Business Ready Data Center optimized with IBM for the on demand operating environment.

In addition to the blade switch, initial offerings will include enhancements to IBM's Tivoli Provisioning Manager to support automated provisioning for Cisco 6500 series router modules, as well as Cisco switches, firewall and SAN (storage area network) products. According to the companies, in the future the program will add specialized support for vertical industries, beginning with education, financial services and banking.