BEDMINSTER, N.J. and SAN JOSE, Calif., February 25, 2003 - In a significant expansion of their long-standing strategic relationship, AT&T (NYSE: T) and Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) today announced they have aligned their marketing and sales forces to enhance delivery of AT&T's leading portfolio of global managed services that utilize Cisco technology and together will collaborate to advance product and technology planning. The agreement initially concentrates on serving U.S. business customers as well as U.S.-based multi-national customers needing global managed services.
"The combination of network reach, number of managed services, size of combined sales forces and strong market positions of AT&T and Cisco make this agreement potentially one of the broadest in the industry," said Michael Haines, principal analyst for information technology services business strategies at Gartner Inc., a leading industry research and consulting firm. "As the information technology industry rapidly moves toward the adoption of converged networks, it is imperative that network hardware manufacturers and service providers collaborate to deliver complete solutions that address customers' needs."
As part of the agreement, the Cisco sales organization and its extensive indirect sales channel will join in the delivery of AT&T managed services that support business operations and mission-critical applications. Customers will benefit from the breadth of the services available, which initially include 17 AT&T end-to-end managed services in the areas of Internet-protocol virtual private network (IP VPN) services, IP network security services, metro optical and Ethernet services, managed router services, managed hosting services and voice/data integrated-access services. More services will be added.
"This agreement takes full advantage of the strengths of Cisco and AT&T to take networking technology and deployment of secure and mission-critical services to the next level," said Ken Sichau, president of AT&T Business Sales. "Our deepened relationship will make it easier for customers to choose AT&T and Cisco because we'll approach customers together with a far more comprehensive set of proven solutions."
One company already benefiting from the collaboration between Cisco and AT&T is Harrah's Entertainment Inc. "We relied on Cisco and AT&T's networking expertise to create a solution that addresses both our current, as well as our future, business needs," said Tim Stanley, Harrah's chief information officer. "Cisco and AT&T make a dynamic team, and we look forward to working with them as we continue to upgrade the networks and implement the services that support our business."
Rick Justice, senior vice president for Worldwide Field Operations at Cisco Systems said, "The extension of our successful relationship with AT&T will enable us to expand our market coverage in the multi-billion dollar managed services market and simplify the purchase process for our mutual customers by facilitating joint sales, partner planning and customer engagements. We will expand our market coverage by collaborating to identify the best-in-class Cisco channel partners that can most effectively sell AT&T managed services, especially in the growing small-to-medium business market."
The 1,200 members of the AT&T Alliance Channel and more than 3,000 certified members of the Cisco channel partner community could potentially sell solutions that combine the two companies' products and services.
Value-added resellers such as Solarcom believe the combined capabilities of AT&T and Cisco create a compelling proposition. "Helping clients solve their business problems is what we're all about, and today's customer wants a complete solution," said Ted Glahn, Solarcom president. "In order to provide a complete solution you must be willing to collaborate. Working together with AT&T and Cisco has been key to our success and we look forward to benefiting from their extended relationship."
A key element of the agreement is the creation of Technology and Product Planning Councils that are spearheaded by senior executives, and which advance ongoing collaboration to identify and respond to customer needs and market opportunities. Building on the unparalleled capabilities of the AT&T and Cisco technical communities, these councils will explore emerging technologies in order to speed the development of new managed services and to assure better performance.
"Our companies already have a proven track record for collaborating and focusing resources on our mutual customers, " said Hossein Eslambolchi, AT&T chief technical officer and president of AT&T Labs. "One product of this combined effort, available today, is AT&T IP-Enabled Frame Relay Service, which is based on Cisco technology. Now we're formalizing this process to further spur creation of innovative services and solutions."
Charlie Giancarlo, senior vice president and general manager of product development for Cisco Systems Inc., said: "By combining the power of two industry leaders, AT&T and Cisco are offering customers the opportunity to source their mission-critical applications over proven, reliable networks. The reach and reliability of AT&T's Cisco-based networks provide our mutual customers a clear and measurable benefit."
About AT&T
AT&T (www.att.com) is among the premier voice, video and data communications companies in the world, serving businesses, consumers, and government. The company runs the largest, most sophisticated communications network in the U.S., backed by the research and development capabilities of AT&T Labs. A leading supplier of data, Internet and managed services for the public and private sectors, AT&T offers outsourcing and consulting to large businesses and government. The company is a market leader in local, long distance and Internet services, as well as transaction-based services like prepaid cards, collect calling and directory assistance. With approximately $37 billion of revenue, AT&T has relationships with about 50 million consumers and 4 million business customers, who depend on AT&T for high-quality communications. AT&T has garnered several awards for outstanding performance and customer service.
About Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. News and information are available at www.cisco.com.
Cisco, Cisco Systems, and the Cisco Systems logo are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.
Editors note: AT&T and Cisco Systems will provide subject matter experts to discuss the announcement and answer questions in an audioconference at 11 a.m. EST / 8 a.m. PST on Tuesday, February 25. Reporters and or industry analysts in the United States may access the audioconference by calling 1-800-288-8974. Those outside the U.S. can participate by dialing +1-612-332-0530.
A replay of the audioconference will be available beginning at 3 p.m. EST / noon PST on Tuesday, February 24, until midnight EST / 9 p.m. PST on Wednesday, February 26.Reporters and analysts in the U.S. can hear the replay by dialing 1-800-475-6701, and the access code 676-431. Those outside the U.S. can dial 1-320-365-3844, and the access code 676-431.
