WoW: Microsoft, Cisco Continue to Cozy Up

• By Jim Barthold
• 10/06/08

The ongoing relationship between Cisco Systems and Microsoft has become even closer, according to recent news that the Windows Server on WAAS (WoW)-- an appliance that merges Cisco's Wide Area Applications Services with Microsoft Windows Server 2008--is available to order.

The two companies announced a product in February designed to consolidate networks and IT branch servers into a single piece of hardware called a Branch Office Box (BOB). BOB is designed to simplify branch office IT operations and a Microsoft blog said the appliance is now available to order. For its part, Cisco placed a "social media release" on its Web site citing positive customer and analyst responses to the product.

Jim Curtis, director of infrastructure for Farm Credit Services of Mid-America, was quoted in the news release that WoW, which has been working in a laboratory environment, "has met all our expectations." Mark Showers, CIO of Monsanto, said that the "collaboration between two of my top vendors is absolutely exciting as it allows me to focus on delivering value to the business while performing less integration of technology." And Steve Howarth, product manager at Cable & Wireless, confirmed that his company "extensively tested Windows Server on WAAS" and knows it's a "stable environment."

The release also included an endorsement from Peter Christy, co-founder of the Internet Research Group. Christy stated that WoW "reflects a very meaningful partnership between Cisco and Microsoft and their joint commitment to their many mutual customers."

Microsoft and Cisco are both collaborators and competitors in various markets, but the two companies released an interview statement last month in which executives promised broad interoperability support.

"It is fair to say that both companies are aggressive growth engines, so there's going to be overlap in certain markets where we are looking to help our mutual customers," stated Kathy Hill Cisco's senior vice president. "In markets where we intersect like the connected home, unified communications and security, we've made a conscious decision to take extra steps to improve the interoperability of our products for the benefit of customers."