Going after European data centers with the promise of making life easier for IT managers, Cisco Systems linked up with Fujitsu Siemens Computers on Wednesday.Networking vendors, with Cisco leading the charge, want to integrate networks tightly with processing and storage, building functions such as security and application performance management into the communications infrastructure. Meanwhile, the emerging service-oriented architecture approach to enterprise IT calls for more flexible communication among all parts of a data center. Making these two companies’ gear work together in a package will help to simplify large enterprise data centers, and make IT operations more efficient and flexible, according to the vendors. Cisco will work with Fujitsu Siemens on combined data center computing and storage systems. The collaboration initially is focused on the European and Asia-Pacific markets because of Fujitsu Siemens’ account relationships, though the fruits of the collaboration will be available worldwide, said Cisco spokeswoman Kristina Scott. The system vendor, based in Maarssen, Netherlands, is a joint venture of Siemens and Fujitsu, and sells a broad range of client and server hardware and services. The companies are kicking off their work together by modifying a stackable Gigabit Ethernet switch from Cisco’s Catalyst line for integration as a blade in Fujitsu Siemens’ Primergy BX600 line of blade servers. It is available immediately through the server maker and its channels. Also beginning immediately, Fujitsu Siemens will act as a system integrator, bringing Cisco MDS 9000 Multilayer Directors and Fabric Switches into storage deployments with its own Storage Solutions portfolio. -Stephen Lawson, IDG News ServiceCheck out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content brandpost Sponsored by SAP When natural disasters strike Japan, Ōita University’s EDiSON is ready to act With the technology and assistance of SAP and Zynas Corporation, Ōita University built an emergency-response collaboration tool named EDiSON that helps the Japanese island of Kyushu detect and mitigate natural disasters. By Michael Kure, SAP Contributor Dec 07, 2023 5 mins Digital Transformation brandpost Sponsored by BMC BMC on BMC: How the company enables IT observability with BMC Helix and AIOps The goals: transform an ocean of data and ultimately provide a stellar user experience and maximum value. By Jeff Miller Dec 07, 2023 3 mins IT Leadership brandpost Sponsored by BMC The data deluge: The need for IT Operations observability and strategies for achieving it BMC Helix brings thousands of data points together to create a holistic view of the health of a service. By Jeff Miller Dec 07, 2023 4 mins IT Leadership how-to How to create an effective business continuity plan A business continuity plan outlines procedures and instructions an organization must follow in the face of disaster, whether fire, flood, or cyberattack. Here’s how to create a plan that gives your business the best chance of surviving such an By Mary K. Pratt, Ed Tittel, Kim Lindros Dec 07, 2023 11 mins Small and Medium Business IT Skills Backup and Recovery Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe