Microsoft Corp. and Cisco® announced that they intend to work together to offer Windows Server 2008 with Cisco WAN optimisation in a solution for branch office environments. Cisco will embed a virtualisation component within its Wide Area Application Services (WAAS) appliance family that will help customers to host Windows Server 2008 services in their existing network infrastructure for branch offices.

The two companies intend for Cisco to offer Windows Server 2008 preinstalled on its new virtualised Cisco WAAS appliances that are scheduled to be available later this year. To optimise the value of this solution for customers, the two companies plan to test and validate the resulting architectures for the remote information technology (IT) infrastructure in the branch office and to offer customers joint support. In addition, Cisco and Microsoft plan to work together to promote awareness of the integrated solution among channel resellers and customers by offering business frameworks and marketing programs.

The integrated solution will provide an optimised architecture for Cisco and Microsoft customers, such as Monsanto, one of the world’s leading agricultural companies, to help consolidate their remote IT infrastructure and accelerate application delivery from centralized data centres while simultaneously delivering Windows Server 2008 services in the branch, for maximum performance and availability. By integrating Cisco WAN optimisation with Windows Server 2008, customers can help ensure branch end-user performance for accessing centralized data centres and applications, while efficiently deploying locally critical Windows Server 2008 services, all through a common remote IT platform.