I'm sure this is just a coincidence!
Rob
[re: Cisco provides second round financing to Flarion;
Flarion in trials with ??????]
Sprint Signs Strategic Relationship Agreement with Cisco
Agreement Sets the Stage for Marketing, Sales and Development Cooperation
KANSAS CITY, Mo., Dec. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Sprint (NYSE: FON - news, PCS - news) today announced they have expanded their relationship with Cisco Systems, Inc. and entered into a three-year strategic relationship. The new agreement builds on a long-standing relationship between the industry's telecommunications and networking leaders to forge strong sales, joint marketing and technology development ties well into the future.
The key elements of the agreement include:
Sprint and Cisco will join forces in sales and marketing efforts to deliver a wide range of equipment and services to customers. Initially, the companies will focus on jointly selling IP-based and broadband services, including dedicated IP, IP VPN and IP telephony.
Sprint and Cisco are also developing joint go-to-market strategies. The companies will utilize their sales channels to drive Sprint/Cisco solutions with expanded incentives and promotional support. They will undertake wide-ranging joint sales and marketing initiatives in order to drive growth and revenue.
The companies have created a technology advisory board that will focus on emerging technologies with the overall goal to enable future alignment in migration efforts, industry standards and business processes. In addition, joint Cisco and Sprint work teams will be developed and regular meetings between senior management and technical staffs will be held in order to help ensure that the companies have insight into key technology and marketing decisions.
``We believe this agreement will allow Sprint and Cisco to expand market offerings, extend and build Cisco networks and enable expanded distribution channels,'' said Len Lauer, president, Global Markets Group for Sprint. ``Although the economy has slowed, Sprint has continued to invest in infrastructure and new product development. By expanding our relationship with Cisco, Sprint is building on its strategy of utilizing strong alliances to drive revenue, grow our business and deliver the best solutions to market quickly and efficiently.''
Sprint and Cisco will develop a collaborative process to share insights into their respective technological directions -- specifically as it relates to IP and broadband networks. The companies will work together on the development of targeted, differentiated solutions. Further, Sprint and Cisco will focus jointly on emerging technologies, including activities designed to ensure future alignment between Sprint's IP and broadband service offerings and Cisco's IP and broadband technologies.
Together, Sprint and Cisco plan to deliver differentiated solutions for end-user customers, enabling these customers to focus on their core businesses and realize increased efficiency. The combined efforts of the two companies are expected to bring greater value to customers by helping them to increase productivity and reduce costs. The expanded alliance will ultimately help customers to become more competitive in the marketplace and provide them with exceptional scalability, security, flexibility and reliability.
``Cisco is proud to be helping to bring this innovative strategic model to the industry,'' said William Nuti, senior vice president of Worldwide Service Provider Operations for Cisco. ``Our strategic relationship with Sprint will be beneficial to our customers as we are even better equipped to provide unique solutions.''
About Sprint
...
biz.yahoo.com |
