IBM and Cisco Systems are planning to jointly develop and sell IP (Internet protocol) telephony systems, according to a report in the Sunday edition of Japan's Nihon Keizai Shimbun business newspaper.

The two companies will announce a comprehensive tie-up at the beginning of this week that will cover the technical, production, sales and after-sales areas of IP phone systems, said the newspaper.

They hope to produce systems that will save corporations between 30 percent and 50 percent on communications costs and are targeting global sales of ¥1 trillion (US$8.6 billion) in a few years, according to the report.

A spokeswoman for IBM in Tokyo declined to comment on the story.