Calling it a “strategic alliance,” Citrix and Cisco Systems have become buddies to “accelerate mainstream adoption of desktop virtualization.” Can Cisco’s networking prowess coupled with Citrix’s virtualization skills bring something uniquely special to the virtualization scene? Here’s the scoop on the “high-definition” VMs coming to a desktop near you …

Citrix and Cisco want to make it easier to deploy virtual machines that are more than just portals to a sluggish host server. Citrix has long brought HD-quality content to thin clients with XenDesktop and HDX technology, and Cisco, naturally, has the networking muscle through VXI (Virtualization Experience Infrastructure) to optimize the pipe to the endpoint. With the combined prowess, anyone using Citrix technology on Cisco equipment will see a considerable uptick when it comes to deploying wide-area application services (as seen at Interop), SaaS and related cloud technology, as well as an enhanced user experience at the endpoint. The duo believes their alliance will spur a slew of virtualization deployments that are easier to integrate and more capable of supporting demanding corporate services such as unified communications or serving remote devices (think: tablets) running Citrix Receiver.

Both companies have started a joint go-to-market plan to help realize their virtualization proliferation dreams, and Cisco plans on showing off capabilities of VXI coupled with Citrix at the Citrix Synergy event in Barcelona.

Bottom line for the channel is there’s a considerable amount of cross-pollination going on. I’ve long believed networking would eventually get packaged up with virtualization, much like data needs have, and the proof is in the Cisco-Citrix pudding. Both Cisco and Citrix partners now have a swath of new ways to approach customers. This level of collaboration and optimization could be key to creating differentiation without extensive training or certification needs.

Chime in and let us know what you think. Is this a cute partnership stunt, or the future of things to come?