Cisco Systems, the networking company, on Monday announced a move into the server market, posing a threat to IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Dell and Sun.

John Chambers, Cisco chief executive, said Cisco’s “unified computing system” would provide the next-generation platform for data centres, the vast computing areas that store corporate data. Cisco is offering an all-in-one box that combines its networking strengths, the latest computer processors from Intel and access to storage networks.