Cisco CIUS

Cisco has a reputation as a great marketing organization, but with my years of experience selling Cisco products I have to disagree. One of Cisco’s new and fabulous products, the Cisco CIUS, epitomizes that experience. Maybe the space I sell to, the midmarket of 200 to 2000 users, is not the target of Cisco marketing, and the things I have seen are inconsequential to Cisco executives. But so far, I am very disappointed that most of the customers I have talked to have never heard of the Cisco CIUS, even though it was first announced over a year ago.

Cisco is focused on their core solutions of networks, collaboration, and virtualization. Those are all great areas to focus on because they are fast growing, have good margins, and Cisco has product leadership. The confluence of these areas is the Cisco CIUS, which is pronounced “see-us”, and I believe is intended to indicate that it is a video collaboration device, which it is. But that is only a small part of what the CIUS does.

I have been on many sales calls in the last few months to see how my company can help organizations address business communication issues and concerns. Top of mind is business agility, mobility, and how to make existing employees as effective as possible. Companies are working to figure out how to use tablets, desktop video, and communication as effectively as possible. One of the concerns local governments and regulated business have is data security, because if there is a loss of confidential information it can lead to many issues. The security concern is a big issue and is not something that is part of consumer devices like the iPad or Android tablets. Tablets, however, are so handy they are making their way into the workplace regardless and have to be accepted.

So when I tell the technical and business people that I meet with that Cisco has a secure enterprise tablet that is Android based, provides corporate control of the App store, and includes strong network security protections, they are surprised. When I go on to describe the additional features of the Cisco CIUS, they are astounded.

I have had quite a few customers tell me that they have never heard of the Cisco CIUS, and it is distressing to me that Cisco does such a poor job getting out the message about their products. This is unfortunately not an isolated occurrence, because I have had this same conversation many times with customers about various Cisco products like Cisco TelePresence video, servers that are part of the Unified Computing System, and Nexus core switches. It is unfortunate because it slows down the adoption of the technology when the customer has to validate what an engineer from a reseller says and is not already informed and excited about the products.

The CIUS is not only a secure Android tablet, but it is a full standards based 720 p HD video conferencing endpoint with cameras front and back that hooks into a Cisco Unified Communications phone system or the Cisco TelePresence video infrastructure. Even better, when the tablet is in its dock, it is a Cisco IP phone that works as part of the corporate phone system. Furthermore, most companies have a Virtual Desktop pilot or small rollout. The Cisco CIUS can run VMware VIEW and Citrix HDX Receiver, so the CIUS can be a VDI client. Add in that you can plug it into an external monitor with VGA or HDMI, and can connect a mouse and keyboard by USB or Bluetooth, and you have an amazing device!

Cisco CIUS’s one current drawback is that it is only available in a 7″ form factor. I am on my way to attend the Cisco Collaboration Summit, where I expect that Cisco will be announcing new versions of the CIUS in the magical 10″ form factor. I am typing this on my Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, which is the perfect size tablet for getting things done.

I am excited about being able to bring these types of solutions to customers. I hope that with the new marketing leadership at Cisco there will be changes and they will spend more time getting the word out about their products and solutions in innovate and effective ways. The products are excellent, work together well, are secure, and are supported well so organizations can be confident in using them. The Cisco CIUS is an opportunity to get marketing going in the right direction.

Author: Rolf D. Versluis

Posted at: Priority Cue

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Filed under: business

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