This IDC update takes a look at the specifics of the enhanced alliance of Cisco and HP in the Asia/Pacific region. In August 2008, Cisco and HP announced the expansion of their global strategic partnership to focus on unified communications (UC). The relationship includes joint initiatives in the realm of sales enablement, marketing activities, and demand generation.

HP's Technology Solutions Group (TSG) pursues UC services opportunities. The Cisco UC portfolio is managed by the Networking Solutions Group within the Technology Solutions. This includes positioning the overall business value proposition, infrastructure solutions in a converged (voice, data, and video) network, and all the related services.

HP is one of the four global certified partners of Cisco, the others being IBM, BT, and Orange Business Services. Cisco's partnership with HP goes back to 1989, when HP became Cisco's gold partner. The new focus on UC is a natural progression of a relationship, which was originally focused on networking - a technology area that mostly required a technology sell.