6/19/2007 -- Longtime companions Cisco Systems Inc. and IBM Corp. last week announced still another expansion to their long-standing strategic alliance.

The new effort concerns the delivery of standards-based telecommunications service assurance and fault-management solutions. Next month, Cisco and IBM plan to introduce a service-management solution that combines Cisco's Active Network Abstraction (ANA) technology with Big Blue's Tivoli software.

The new offering -- dubbed the "Cisco Assurance Management Solution" -- is designed to help service providers centrally manage new services. It will provide network fault monitoring, trouble isolation and service-level event management capabilities for large, multi-vendor networks.

"This new agreement gives service providers the combined benefits of proven IBM Tivoli technology together with Cisco's breakthrough approach to network mediation with an open, standards-based solution," said Al Zollar, general manager of Tivoli Software for IBM, in a statement. "As IBM looks to help our service provider customers deliver higher return on their network and IT investments, Cisco is a natural partner."

Among other scenarios, Cisco says the ANA/Tivoli combo will help service providers change or evolve network devices and configurations without having to change their service management and operations support applications. The first rev of Cisco's Assurance Management Solution will also include IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus and Netcool/Precision technology. Cisco also plans to incorporate additional Tivoli technologies or offerings into future versions of assurance solutions.

Cisco officials have spun the expanded partnership as a rousing endorsement of the company's ANA technology.

"Cisco Active Network Abstraction is the basis of future solutions being delivered to our service provider customers. This expanded collaboration with IBM provides customers with the confidence that Cisco's new device management and mediation products will work with IBM software," said Cliff Meltzer, senior vice president of the Network Management Technology Group at Cisco, in a statement. "The commitment from IBM demonstrates the unique capabilities of Cisco ANA and will provide our joint customers with a platform that transforms their network into a strategic business asset." --Stephen Swoyer