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 feature Red Hat embraces hybrid cloud for internal IT The maker of OpenShift has leveraged its own open container offering to migrate business-critical apps to AWS as part of a strategy to move beyond facilitating hybrid cloud for others and capitalize on the model for itself. By Paula Rooney May 29, 2023 5 mins CIO 100 Technology Industry Hybrid Cloud feature 10 most popular IT certifications for 2023 Certifications are a great way to show employers you have the right IT skills and specializations for the job. These 10 certs are the ones IT pros are most likely to pursue, according to data from Dice. By Sarah K. White May 26, 2023 8 mins Certifications Careers interview Stepping up to the challenge of a global conglomerate CIO role Dr. Amrut Urkude became CIO of Reliance Polyester after his company was acquired by Reliance Industries. He discusses challenges IT leaders face while transitioning from a small company to a large multinational enterprise, and how to overcome them. By Yashvendra Singh May 26, 2023 7 mins Digital Transformation Careers brandpost With the new financial year looming, now is a good time to review your Microsoft 365 licenses By Veronica Lew May 25, 2023 5 mins Lenovo 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