Hewlett-Packard (HP), Cisco Systems (Cisco) both giant tech companies are now on the move to compete for a data center business; a move that can steal business from each other's core markets.

An analyst from Yankee Group Zeus Kerravala says that they We're seeing the dissolving of a long marriage between the two. They're looking for opportunities, and it has to come from somewhere.

Recent developments are clearly realigning what was once a cozy relationship and are setting the pair up for an epic collision.

Hewlett-Packard took steps toward enterprise networking when it announced a new family of data center switches and a new alliance program called the ProCurve Open Network Ecosystem (ONE) with partners like Avaya, F5 Networks, McAfee, and Riverbed.

HP is also trying to undercut larger rival Cisco Systems Inc in the market for business networking equipment by pricing its products at 30 percent to 50 percent less. ProCurve products cost less than rival offerings from Cisco when taking into account the price for the networking hardware, software, service and support.

Meanwhile, Speculation says that to make the management of hundreds of virtual servers easier for customers with that Cisco will release a server outfitted with virtualization software and networking equipment. By bundling software and different types of hardware together, Cisco expects to keep the margins for the server product high.

ProCurve's senior vice-president and general manager Marius Haas said that Cisco customers are going down the path of being told they need to upgrade to a next generation Cisco Nexus architecture, and they don't know if they want to do it

With this latest collision in tech world, customers are waiting to get the effective one not from the brand but for endurance, strength and reliability of services whether hardware, software or relationship.

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