IBM: Juniper OEM Deal Not A Slap At Cisco

IBM and Juniper Networks have struck an OEM agreement through which IBM will rebrand and sell Juniper's fledgling Ethernet switching line as part of its overall data center networking vision.

The deal, which includes select models of Juniper's EX Ethernet switching line and the full line of MX routers, is seen by some as a slap at long-term IBM partner Cisco Systems.

According to both companies, the OEM deal gives IBM the go-ahead to offer select Juniper EX switch models, including the 4200 and 8200 series. The OEM partnership expands the relationship forged in 2007 between Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM and Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Juniper.

"It's an expansion of our go-to-market and opens up an incremental route to market for us," said Steve Pataky, Juniper's vice president of worldwide channel development and programs, adding that the move will also give Juniper and its EX line deeper reach into the data center.

Andy Vandeveld, Juniper's vice president of IBM strategic alliances, added that the OEM deal is the next step in Juniper's and IBM's joint cloud computing strategy.

"This OEM seems like a very good next step in the relationship," he said.

IBM-branded EX and MX gear is expected later this year. IBM said the OEM partnership includes a reseller agreement with IBM Global Technology Services along with collaboration on Juniper's upcoming Stratus data center project and IBM's worldwide Cloud Labs.

And while IBM is trumpeting its partnership with Juniper, some industry analysts have said that the Juniper pairing is a dig at Cisco, a longtime IBM partner that recently started playing in IBM's backyard with the release of its blade and rack server offerings, which the industry saw as a direct slap at both IBM and Hewlett-Packard.

IBM, however, denied that Cisco is being left out of the loop.

"We understand that it could be perceived that way," Charlie Andrews, IBM director of dynamic infrastructure solutions, said. "But this relationship with Juniper is something that's been in the process for quite some time We're not doing it because we want to minimize Cisco."

Andrews said the OEM deal with Juniper was locked down before Cisco unveiled its server offerings with its Unified Computing System (UCS) in March. Andrews said IBM is a nimble company but "not that nimble" that it could change its focus on a dime when a partner becomes a competitor.

"We have lots of [companies] we work with on one side and compete with on another," he said, adding Cisco is now one of those companies.

Andrews pointed out that along with signing the OEM agreement with Juniper on Wednesday, IBM also expanded its resale relationship with Cisco to enable its Systems & Technology Group sellers and partners to resell the Cisco Nexus 5000 Series data center switches. According to IBM, adding the Nexus 5000 family of data center switches will better help support lossless 10 Gigabit Ethernet, Fibre Channel and Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE).

Bringing Cisco into its FCoE plans shows IBM still considers the San Jose, Calif.-based networking giant an integral part of IBM's networking strategy, which is carried out solely through OEM and reselling. IBM said the Cisco Nexus 5000 can be ordered immediately and will be available in September.

Along with Juniper and Cisco, IBM on Wednesday also launched a relationship with Brocade, which included the introduction of Brocade-manufactured, IBM Converged Switch B32 and 10 Gb Converged Network Adapter for IBM System x to its FCoE offerings. The new deal builds on Brocade's and IBM's FCoE OEM agreements and the new gear is available now, IBM said.

"We are forging tighter relationships with all of our vendors," Andrews said, adding IBM has been working in the SAN space with Cisco and Brocade and has had a two-year relationship with Juniper. "This links into our focus on where we think the world is going."

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