Could Cisco's Cius end headaches for the IT team?

Cisco's Cius is aimed at enterprise collaboration

Network giant Cisco surprised the world the week before last by launching a tablet aimed squarely at enterprise collaboration.

The tablet, called Cius, was announced at Cisco Live in Las Vegas.

As the second-biggest vendor in enterprise networking technology, Cisco knows how to grow market share, and this client side tablet device could be a key strategy play from the giant.

It is widely recognised that the proliferation of mobile technologies such as the iPad is making life difficult for the IT department. The tech guys are currently struggling to keep track of who is carrying what information around on their iPad or BlackBerry.

So will this release add to or help resolve the headaches suffered by the IT department?

As this is likely to be deployed from within the business, rather than being taken up and used by employees according to their whim – and without the knowledge of the IT department – it may herald the return of some control over technology in the enterprise to the enterprise itself.

Other business tablets due for release this year, from Research in Motion, Adobe, HP, Dell, Toshiba, and even Google may also extend this control.

The tablet's business features include a unified communications and Quad collaboration platform. Tools include the WebEx Collaboration Cloud; Cisco TelePresence for real-time collaboration; and Cisco Quad collaboration to integrate business apps with social networking tools, such as VoIP, instant messaging, video, and calendars.

Dual cameras will allow surveyors to photograph properties and estate agents to snap rooms. Those working in fashion could show potential buyers videos of a fashion show. Also a show-and-share video system will help enterprises create secure, collaborative video communities to share ideas and expertise.

The tablet uses Android business apps which are growing, and Cisco plans to provide tools to help developers expand them.

Standard equipment on the Cius will include a virtual desktop client application, which allows it to access standard resident apps from the cloud. The docking device will enable people who work away from a desk at times to dock their tablet to a traditional computer when they return.

But there are some drawbacks to the tablet, in that enterprise deployments will depend on whether firms are already using Cisco applications, according to Tim Renowden, devices analyst at Ovum.

"If you're already using Cisco Telepresence and its unified communications software, this device could tie that technology together well, but it may not be as useful if you’re not," he said.

In addition, there are some features necessary for an enterprise tablet that are missing from Cisco’s Cius, according to Quocirca communications analyst Rob Bamforth. He argues that a successful business-orientated tablet would need client apps and server integration.

As to comparisons with other small form factor mobile devices like netbooks, Gartner vice president Ken Dulaney scotched thoughts that Cius might pose a threat. “Netbooks are consumer – this is enterprise. Netbooks are laptop replacements and this [Cius] is really a deskphone replacement with the tablet extension and support for more communications modalities.”

Android apps

Another problem with the device noted by Dulaney was that the current version of Android OS that the device runs under – version 2.2 – "only has basic enterprise support".

“There are some policies to wipe the device and support passwords, but this is still in development, and we’ll need to see further details, and what extra [Android] add-ons Cisco puts into the device [when it ships],” pointed out Dulaney.

And, unsurprisingly, the Android Apps store is somewhat short of products in comparison with Apple’s store: “The Android marketplace has about 50,000 apps, whilst Apple’s has around 200,000 apps. Android is growing but still behind,” said Dulaney.

"There aren't many enterprise-friendly properties in Android's apps yet, so I was surprised to see Cisco using Android for this platform since it doesn't [currently] have the manageability and security features that some of the other platforms have," said Ovum’s Renowden.

Renowden said that Cisco was claiming to have done it's own customisation of the Android OS, which would to give IT managers control of provisioning applications. It would also be able to determine which apps users can download from the store.

Cisco hopes that businesses would be more likely to deploy third-party applications which IT managers deploying Cius could support, while controlling user access policy through Cisco’s AnyConnect VPN Security, part of Cisco’s Borderless Networks architecture.

Cisco also hopes to address manageability concerns and lack of business applications for IT departments, by helping to develop Android’s business apps.

The company will achieve this by offering its collaboration application protocol interfaces (APIs) to app developers through a software developer's kit (SDK).

Cisco said that Cius customer trials will begin in quarter three of this year, with general availability in quarter one of 2011.

Specifications

The tablet has a front-mounted 720p high definition (HD) camera running at 30 fps, a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera, able to stream VGA quality video, and also take pictures.

Cius will support 802.11 a/b/g/n wireless for enterprise campus mobility and 3G cellular services when Wi-Fi is not available. Cisco said that 4G services will be available at a later date.

There are also Bluetooth and micro-USB connections allowing users to sync data with standard desktop systems, and the tablet can also be docked into an optional HD audio station.

Battery life for the device when not docked and being used ‘on the road’ is eight hours under normal usage, according to Cisco.