Cisco Kills Cius Tablet Running Google Android; BYOD Wins
Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) has killed its Cius tablet, which runs Google Android. The VAR Guy is hardly surprised. Cisco didn’t offer any Cius updates during Cisco Partner Summit 2012. And Cisco executives had rarely, if ever, been seen using the Cisco Cius tablet. So what went wrong with the Cisco Cius tablet strategy? Competition from Apple’s iPad? Not exactly. The real Cius killer was Bring Your Own Device (BYOD).
In a blog post about the BYOD trend, Cisco’s OJ Winge essentially announced that Cisco has killed Cisco Cius product development.
“…Cisco will no longer invest in the Cisco Cius tablet form factor, and no further enhancements will be made to the current Cius endpoint beyond what’s available today. However, as we evaluate the market further, we will continue to offer Cius in a limited fashion to customers with specific needs or use cases.”
Cisco Cius: Focused on Business
Unlike the Apple iPad, Cisco Cius was designed exclusively for enterprise customers, promoting video conferencing, enterprise apps and collaborative experiences. But Cisco Cius could not compete with the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend, where end-users purchase and use their own devices on corporate networks and in business settings.
Cius is Cisco’s latest video-related product to flop or die in the past year or so. Cisco previously killed the popular Flip video camera as well as its Cisco Umi videoconferencing system for consumers.
Still, The VAR Guy applauds Cisco for taking some chances in the market. Although Cius flopped — badly — the mobile endpoint experience likely helped Cisco to shape its networking, wireless and Jabber software, which competes with Microsoft Skype.
Another fail. Even when it comes to software Cisco’s strategy is slow to materialise and not relevant in market. PostPath is another example where Cisco’s strategy failed.
As a business development manager within a Cisco channel I have the embarrassment of going to customer meetings next week to try to salvage relationships and convince them of some sort of UC and collaboration strategy. I am furious!
Cisco if you are listening please get someone in charge that knows where the market is going and what customers want. Sorry, ex-Nortel execs with their crazy brain-fart ideas and no accountability for their mistakes is ruining what used to be a joy to sell.
Tom,
The VAR Guy concedes that Cisco has been off the mark several times in recent years. But the company does seem hungry and focused again, no? And the UCS push seems to be catching on, too…
Do you see potential market opportunities that Cisco is overlooking?
-TVG