SAN JOSE — April 10, 2013 — Cisco today announced a range of new joint technologies and integrated solutions targeting data centers that use Microsoft Corp.’s Cloud OS technologies. By combining the Cisco® Unified Data Center architecture with Microsoft Fast Track architecture solutions, Cisco and Microsoft are helping customers reduce complexity, improve IT productivity and enhance business agility. 

Cisco and Microsoft are also delivering on go-to-market initiatives for jointly vetted solutions that help enable channel partners who resell both Cisco data center and Microsoft Cloud OS technologies to grow their data center business and better solve customer issues.

Highlights:

• The Cisco Unified Data Center technology and Microsoft Fast Track 3.0 architecture solutions mitigate the complexity of the data center and help to enable simplified deployment, operations, and increased productivity.
• The Microsoft Fast Track 3.0 solutions reduce complexity and boost productivity by simplifying the management of combined Cisco and Microsoft data center environments. They also enhance business agility by giving organizations the ability to provision data center resources more quickly. By giving Microsoft customers programmatic access to the Cisco Unified Computing System™ (Cisco UCS®), Cisco is also giving customers far more insight and control over how Cisco Unified Data Center elements work with Windows Server and application software.
• Technology Innovation:
  • Through the combination of the Cisco Nexus 1000V® Series, a comprehensive and extensible virtual and cloud networking platform, Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V Extensible Switch and System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2012 SP1, customers who wish to virtualize certain aspects of their data center networks can do so alongside physical networking and cloud computing infrastructure.
  • Cisco UCS combines the powerful Manager open API and Cisco PowerTool for Microsoft's PowerShell utility with System Center 2012 SP1 managing and provisioning tools. As a result, customers are able to provision, configure, orchestrate and monitor physical and virtual infrastructures and Windows Server and application software at every level.
  • With the Cisco UCS Management Pack for System Center 2012 SP1 Operations Manager, customers are able to monitor and manage their Cisco Unified Data Center with a single interface.
  • The Cisco UCS Integration Pack for System Center 2012 SP1 Orchestrator improves operational efficiency and delivers scalable and consistent Cisco UCS management through out-of-the-box run-books.
  • The Cisco UCS UI Extension Add-in for System Center 2012 SP1 Virtual Machine Manager provides centralized management of Cisco UCS by allowing access to Cisco UCS management controls from within System Center Virtual Machine Manager.
• Microsoft Fast Track 3.0 Solutions: Cisco is offering new Microsoft Fast Track Solutions, which give customers the choice of either integrated reference architectures with Cisco and EMC® (VSPEX ™ Proven Infrastructure) or with Cisco and NetApp (FlexPod), both of which have been validated for the Microsoft Private Cloud Fast Track 3.0 program and feature support for Windows Server 2012 and System Center 2012 SP1.
  • VSPEX Solution for Microsoft Private Cloud Fast Track 3.0 offers a simple, fully integrated, rapidly deployable Microsoft-based private cloud upon which customers can easily manage the applications that run their businesses.
  • FlexPod with Microsoft Private Cloud offers a turnkey platform, designed jointly by NetApp and Cisco, and built on a defined set of hardware and software for IaaS environments based on Microsoft platforms. The solution features management, automation and orchestration capabilities integrated with Microsoft System Center 2012 SP1 and PowerShell for the efficient and accelerated deployment of services and applications
• Go-to-Market: Cisco and Microsoft intend to roll out targeted channel initiatives in select countries to enable alignment in selling Microsoft Fast Track 3.0 architecture solutions.

Supporting Quotes

Satinder Sethi, vice president, Data Center Solutions, Cisco

“The intersection of computing, networking, virtualization, and software is at the center of a new era of innovation. Alliances like the one we have with Microsoft allow us the opportunity to jointly develop innovative and integrated solutions to help drive out data center complexity, in turn delivering simplified operations, and improved information technology productivity and data center utilization for our partners and customers.”

Neil Campbell, director of Solutions, Dimension Data Australia

“Our ability to architect and deliver an integrated, scalable ‘Bank in a Box’ solution to ING Direct was made possible in part by Cisco’s technology - primarily their UCS server family, Nexus switches, and UCS Manager software, all working deeply with Microsoft System Center 2012 SP1 and Windows Server 2012. Cisco's support of open APIs in their products facilitated a smooth integration into the Microsoft software stack, which realized the promise of agility and automation.”

Brad Anderson, corporate vice president, Windows Server and System Center,, Microsoft

“Microsoft’s Cloud OS approach, based on Windows Server 2012 and System Center 2012 SP1, gives customers a comprehensive platform for implementing their infrastructure on premises, with a hosting service provider, and in the cloud. Combining the proven Microsoft Fast Track architecture with Cisco’s innovative Unified Data Center architecture provides partners and customers with a first-class option for navigating their way through today’s new age of data center deployment and management.”    

Raj Gill, founder and chief technology officer, Scalability Experts

“Cisco and Microsoft are focused on helping customers realize a new business vision for the cloud era, and Scalability Experts has become a key leader in advancing this vision by leveraging scalable and high-performance platforms.  Increasing the performance of database operations, lowering IT costs and improving business decision-making capabilities is what we focus on delivering to each of our clients.  Microsoft solutions and Cisco’s UCS compute family are key strategic platforms for enabling us to consistently exceed our customer’s expectations.”

Related Links

• Learn more about Cisco’s Microsoft capabilities
• Read about Cisco Unified Computing
• Learn more about Nexus 1000V
• Read about Scalability Experts on Cisco’s Channels Blog
• Learn more about ING Direct’s ‘Bank in a Box’ solution
• Read from EMC about VSPEX Solution for Microsoft Private Cloud Fast Track 3.0
• Read from NetApp about FlexPod with Microsoft Private Cloud

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