Goliaths on a Collision Course?

Talk to Microsoft and Cisco Systems and, rather than describing a rivalry, they'll list the many ways in which they're collaborating. They've worked together on such products as small-business call centers and set-top boxes. But there's rising competition on other fronts where gr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bloomberg businessweek (Online) 2005-11 (3961), p.92
Main Author: Peter Burrows and Olga Kharif
Format: Magazinearticle
Language:English
Subjects:
Competition
High tech industries
Software industry
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Talk to Microsoft and Cisco Systems and, rather than describing a rivalry, they'll list the many ways in which they're collaborating. They've worked together on such products as small-business call centers and set-top boxes. But there's rising competition on other fronts where growth is expected to be brisk, namely security software and Internet telephone technology. So while the two companies compete only in pockets today, researcher Gartner Inc. thinks the overlap will grow to markets worth $20 billion in six years. What's at the root of the increasingly complex relationship between Microsoft, the world's largest software maker, and Cisco, the No. 1 maker of computer networking gear? It's the shift in the tech industry's center of gravity--from the PC, where Microsoft has ruled, to the network, where Cisco is dominant. The big question is whether the two companies will butt heads or partner up.
ISSN:0007-7135
2162-657X