Cisco, Microsoft, EMC form govt data alliance

(Adds detail)

NEW YORK, July 10 (Reuters) - Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO.O), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT.O), and EMC Corp. (EMC.N) said on Tuesday they have formed an alliance to develop technology for protecting and sharing sensitive government information.

The technology, called the Secure Information Sharing Architecture or SISA, will allow government agencies to better communicate while protecting content from being lost or stolen, the companies said.

Technology to protect information has historically been enforced system-by-system, the companies said. SISA will allow agencies to set up networks that enable users of different computer systems to access the same information.

An example is data on pandemics, which is stored by different agencies and by the private sector, Cisco, EMC and Microsoft said in a statement.

The partners are providing the core commercial off-the-shelf technology for the project, they said. Cost estimates were not disclosed. Three other companies in the alliance are Liquid Machines, Swan Island Networks Inc. and Canada's Titus Labs. Addx Corp. will manage the alliance.

(Reporting by Nick Zieminski; editing by Sue Thomas; nick.zieminski@reuters.com; Reuters Messaging: nick.zieminski.reuters.com@reuters.net; +1 646 223 6000)) Keywords: CISCO MICROSOFT/EMC

(C) Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution ofReuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expresslyprohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuterssphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group ofcompanies around the world.nN10243391