HP is shoring up its networking capabilities with new third-party integrated applications in what many see as a stance against Cisco and other rivals in the data center optimization field.

The company just announced a new alliance program for the ProCurve division aimed at bringing a wide range of applications into the fold. The Open Network Ecosystem (ONE) is on the new ONE Services zl Module, a new blade design that encompasses a number of HP switching technologies. The device is due out next month.

Already, the company has lined up heavy-hitters like Microsoft, Avaya, McAfee, F5 and Riverbed Technology, covering areas like network access protection, IP telephony, load balancing and WAN optimization.

The hope is that by offering integrated packages of networking gear and applications, deployment and installation will go a lot smoother. Cisco has already moved in this direction with its Integrated Services Router.

HP has also released a new Data Center Connection Manager, plus five new ProCurve 6600 edge switches.