Microsoft and Cisco bond over security

Cisco Systems and Microsoft announced on Wednesday a new architecture that allows their security technology platforms to work together.

Now corporate customers who want to protect their networks from unauthorised users will be able to use both Cisco's Network Admission Control and Microsoft's Network Access Protection security frameworks.

The companies had promised back in 2004 that the two security architectures would be interoperable.

Cisco, known for its aggressive acquisition strategy, is pushing forward with its partnership programme - also announcing on Wednesday a new marketing partnership with business software company SAP.

For much of its existence, Cisco has used acquisitions as a way to enter new markets quickly and to round out its technology and product portfolios. In the past two decades, it has acquired more than 100 companies.

But it has also been forming strategic partnerships over the years with several large companies, such as Ericsson, IBM, Microsoft and now SAP, to help round out its portfolio and to make sure its products are interoperable with other products its customers are using.

Cisco and Microsoft released a technical white paper at a security trade show in Boston that describes how their systems can be used together. They also demonstrated the new architecture for potential customers.

The pair said they expect to test a limited beta version of the architecture later this year. It will be commercially available in the second half of 2007, the companies said.

Cisco also announced a new marketing effort in Canada and the US with SAP, to specifically address governance, risk and compliance (GRC) business processes and IT control issues.

It said the agreement will help link SAP's GRC solutions with access and identity information gathered from Cisco's Service Oriented Architected Network Architecture. Through the marketing agreement, the companies will collaborate on sales and marketing and provide advanced services to corporate customers.

No financial information about the deal was released. The agreement is the first of its kind in the business software arena, SAP said in a statement.

Marguerite Reardon writes for CNET News.com