Cisco came to market this week with a new solution for service assurance that has IBM Tivoli software embedded in it. The two companies also announced an expanded partnership to bring integrated network management and monitoring products to the telecom marketplace.

The long-time partners have approximately 25,000 joint customers. Those customers and new ones will now see the integration of Cisco Active Network Abstraction with IBM Tivoli software, which includes the Micromuse Netcool product it gained through acquisition.

Cisco’s ANA is a network mediation tool that can dynamically discover and identify device and network components and understands the near real-time status of network elements. It acts as a vendor-neutral device management system and an enabling platform for value-added network and service management applications. Tivoli is a service and network management solution.

The first product to come of this expanded relationship will be the Cisco Assurance Management Solution (ANA.) It helps service providers better manage IP-based services by combining Cisco’s network management platform with IBM Tivoli software for service assurance and fault management.

“This is the extension of a relationship, but at the same time its got the sizzle and promise of Cisco’s new technology and it pulls through a large chunk of the Tivoli portfolio. Initially is it the Netcool suite and then the door is open for ongoing development,” said John Sien, global director of OEMs and strategic alliances for Tivoli Software at IBM.

ANA will be the basis of future solutions being delivered jointly to service provider customers. The initial version of the Cisco Assurance Management Solution will include IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus and Netcool/Precision technology. Cisco can incorporate other Tivoli technologies in future version of assurance solutions. Cisco will offer professional services to help ensure rapid implementation by its customers.

This expanded partnership will enable Tivoli Netcool and Cisco Info Center customers to leverage the benefits of Cisco’s ANA platform. Cisco Info Center is the Cisco-branded version of Tivoli Netcool, which is used by over 500 of Cisco’s largest customers.

“This is an example of how we can compete together to do things that save carriers [operational expense,]” Sein said.

Since 1999, IBM and Cisco have forged a unique, broad-reaching strategic alliance relationship to better enable their customers' ability to innovate. The IBM and Cisco strategic alliance has more than 25,000 joint customers. The companies are a proven resource to more seamlessly and rapidly integrate business processes, industry knowledge, information technologies, and the intelligence of the network, maximizing our customers’ ability to envision, design, and innovate to exceed their business objectives.