Cisco, Microsoft: Heck of a Battle
Forgive The VAR Guy for hyping the unified communications battle between Cisco and Microsoft. But it’s fun to throw two titans into a ring and let them trade blows — over and over again. This time around, a few stealth Cisco watchers point to the networking giant’s special financing programs for unified communication partners.
Partners can read more about the Cisco financing offers over on Cisco.com. The Cisco move preempts Microsoft’s big unified communications product launch, scheduled for October 16 at 9:15am Pacific. You can watch Bill Gates and Jeff Raikes talk up Microsoft’s new unified communications products on a company Web cast.
The VAR Guy will listen closely to Gates’ competitive words. In recent weeks, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Cisco CEO John Chambers have expressed the need to both compete and cooperate. So which will it be on October 16? Friends or foes? The VAR Guy will be watching.
