Cisco and Microsoft detail interoperability pact

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The chief executives of industry giants Cisco and Microsoft shared centre stage in New York this afternoon to reassure customers that while they intend to continue to compete in certain areas, they will work together to ensure interoperability in others.

Recently, both companies have been focusing their efforts around the vision of unified communications and today they outlined, or at least tried to, their joint plans for what they see as the next wave of the internet.

"Our customers love the fact we compete. I'm not shy about it. We have more guys to innovate and come in to bid on price and that's all fantastic. But [customers are] saying 'If I choose to use some of Microsoft's stuff and some of Cisco's, I don't want to be penalised by that'," Microsoft's chief executive Steve Ballmer said during a live web cast hosted at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. "[They're saying] 'Give me the choice and... not the all or nothing choice'."

Despite a lengthy discusson, the specific details of what the two companies will work together on and which areas they'll remain rivals in still seemed a little sketchy to those watching the web cast. But both chief executives were happy to admit that they recognise that no one company can do everything, particularly when it comes to security.

"The days of being friend or foe are over... If you look at one of the things that slows down an industry quicker than anything else, it's probably security," said Cisco's chief executive and chairman John Chambers. "We have worked together very closely with the federal government on how to solve this problem and work together to alleviate the majority of the threat of the problem. One company cannot solve it by itself. Together [Cisco and Microsoft] touch a large part of their exposure. Companies don't want issues of competition to cause them not to be interoperable in their own environment."

The next big web wave will be all about making technology much easier to use and, according to Ballmer, chief executive officers are already starting to see their IT people as more of a help than a hindrance and realise that technology can help them strategically.

Chambers echoed Ballmer's thoughts in this area: "We think the second phase of the internet is in front of us. It's easy to use technology. If we're right, in next three to five years, I think we'll see a gradual increase in productivity occur from this."

As a last reassurance that it has co-operation at the forefront of its mind, Microsoft's Ballmer said: "Engineers' egos can be confused for competition. We get a little bit of that. But we don't want to let engineers' egos get in the way of important interoperability."

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