Cisco could soon make a move into the virtualisation market with a project codenamed California, according to a report in the New York Times. The move would place it in competition with traditional partners such as HP and IBM.
The report stated that Cisco would be pushing a server bundled with networking hardware and virtualisation software from both Cisco and VMware. It is no surprise to see Cisco deal with VMware, as the networking giant owns a 2% stake in the virtualisation vendor.
Cisco’s recent move into areas other than its traditional networking stronghold, such as Unified Communications, have led to suggestions from analysts that a virtual offering was on the cards.
Jason Richards, senior technical consultant at virtualisation reseller Panacea Services, said: “It comes as no surprise that Cisco has entered the virtualisation market. We are seeing demand for virtualisation go through the roof and with rivals such as Microsoft and HP making waves in the area, it was only a matter of time before Cisco got in on the act.”
While Cisco has had long-standing partnerships with both IBM and HP, it is possible that the companies will be in direct competition with each other in the virtualisation market. Analysts have suggested that the competition could drive IBM and HP into the arms of Cisco’s rivals to meet their networking needs.
Richards however believes that Cisco could well emerge on top if the companies do go head-to-head.
“The move should cause major concern for competitors in the market, as when Cisco enters a market, it means business and will aim to quickly dominate the virtualisation space,” he said.
Content from our partners
