Dell, Nortel and Microsoft: Ganging Up On Cisco?

Surround and conquer. Microsoft used that strategy to topple Unix in the 1990s, and nearly rallied the database applications market against Oracle in more recent years. Next up, Microsoft is taking the same approach in the unified communications space vs. Cisco Systems. Pals Dell and Nortel Networks are more than happy to back the strategy.

A flurry of recent events could potentially change the unified communications landscape. Dell has agreed to resell and support Nortel’s unified communications product lineup. And Nortel continues to evangelize/back Microsoft’s new unified communications platform.

Wonderful. But it’s hard for me to bet against Cisco in this market. I keep looking at the WebEx acquisition, and can’t help but expect Cisco to make additional acquisitions that further the company’s unified communications offerings.

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