Networking behemoth Cisco and virtualization software maker Citrix  announced a new partner program this week that offers a number of incentives to resellers in the VDI space. More specifically, only partners who deliver Cisco Virtualization Experience Infrastructure (VXI) with Citrix XenDesktop are eligible to join the Cisco and Citrix Partner Accelerator.

The two firms promise to provide members the tools and consultancy they require to set up a delivery model that combines offerings from them both. Marketing resources, training and ‘differentiation’ in the form of unique branding are also offered to sweeten the deal.

“Citrix and Cisco have been working together for over two years to bring a complete solution to the market based on the Cisco VXI platform that addresses the critical customer requirements to enable secure access to desktops, applications and data from anywhere and any device, while reducing operational complexity and cost,” said Cynthia Gallant, Citrix’s head of global channel strategy and market development.

A couple of weeks ago Cisco teamed up with NetApp for a different channel initiative – the FlexPod Premium Partner Framework. Another joint program, this one focuses on the bigger partners and promises benefits that reward their ‘elite status’ with more support, better merchandising material and other resources.

Citrix in turn has been investing in a different area: mobile. The company is in a leading position when it comes to desktop virtualization, and mobile is one area this trend has already started expanding towards. Earlier this month Citrix announced that it’s buying mobile traffic optimization network ByteMobile for an undisclosed amount: a firm whose reach spans 60 countries and 130 carriers. The two companies have a history of successfully collaborating on product development, and that it seems that this made ByteMobile a particularly attractive acquisition target.