The top executives of both companies announced on Monday that they would work together to make their offerings compatible, in an effort to prevent customers from putting off buying decisions.
While Cisco and Microsoft are leaders in their fields, they are competing aggressively to deliver a single, "unified communications" system that ties together e-mail, phones and other tools over internet networks.
In their first joint public discussion, Cisco Chief Executive John Chambers and Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said they would compete in some areas but also meet demands from customers who want to pick and choose from both.
"They're saying, 'Give me the choice. Don't give me the all or nothing choice,'" Ballmer said, adding that he was seeking "respectful competition" with Cisco.
