A Possible? Road to the Web

Cisco Cius Tablet: Another One Bites the Dust

The networking giant has put the kibosh on its Cius tablet. The business-oriented Android device, marketed to enterprise users, failed to take hold in face of the "bring your own device" movement.

O.J. Winge, Cisco's senior vice president in its TelePresence Technology Group, penned a blog post late Thursday that explained the decision. In it, he discussed how we are facing a workplace that is no longer a physical place, but a blend of virtual and physical environments.

He described it as a place where employees are bringing their preferences to work and "bring your own device" is the new norm, where collaboration has to happen beyond a walled garden, and any-to-any connectivity is a requirement, not a "nice to have."

"As we announced last week, findings from the Cisco IBSG Horizons Study on virtualization and BYOD shows that 95 percent of organizations surveyed allow employee-owned devices in some way, shape or form in the office, and, 36 percent of surveyed enterprises provide full support for employee-owned devices," Winge wrote. "These stats underscore a major shift in the way people are working, in the office, at home and on-the-go, a shift that will continue to gain momentum."

Doubling Down on Software

That shift is causing Cisco to emphasize software rather than hardware. Winge noted that over the past year Cisco had delivered software like Cisco Jabber and Cisco WebEx across a variety of operating systems, tablets and smartphones -- and he reported "tremendous interest" in those software offerings as the world moves toward a post-PC era.

"Based on these market transitions, 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...

Android Now Corners 60% of Market, Q1 Report Says

The Android invasion continues to sweep the globe, bumping up against the 60 percent mark in a research firm survey on quarterly market share.

At the same time, the news gets worse for one-time champion Research In Motion, whose BlackBerry devices' share slipped to single digits at 6.4 percent, less than half its market share in the first quarter of 2011.

Seamlessness Is Key

More than eight of every 10 smartphones shipped in the quarter were powered by Google's Android operating system, which is available on a range of devices on multiple carriers from many manufacturers, said International Data Corp., based on its Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.

The company said Android's method of making the smartphone experience "intuitive and seamless" was the key to its success as competitors have struggled to challenge them. That means ensuring a steady supply of apps and content.

"In order for operating system challengers to gain share, their creators and hardware partners need to secure developer loyalty," said Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst with IDC's Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker program, in a statement releasing the study. "This is true because developer intentions or enthusiasm for a particular operating system is typically a leading indicator of hardware sales success."

Apple's iOS, however, continued to show solid growth, with a boost from 18 percent to 23 percent year-over-year, coming in at an impressive second place given that Apple only makes one device.

Last week Gartner gave it a 56 percent global share.

The news is less encouraging not only for BlackBerry but for Microsoft, whose Windows Mobile and newer Windows Phone 7 devices combined barely showed a pulse with a 2.2 percent share of the market, more or less the same as its 2.6 percent share in the first quarter of last year, despite Microsoft's partnership with Nokia and its Mango update. ...

IBM Commerce on Cloud Targets Supply Chain Processes

Now that the dust has settled on IBM's Smarter Commerce Summit in Madrid, analysts are beginning to offer insight into what some of Big Blue's announcements really mean for cloud computing and the enterprises that are rolling forward with the technology.

IBM announced new software, dubbed IBM Commerce on Cloud, designed to improve data sharing and automate complex marketing and supply chain processes in the cloud. The idea is to help marketers improve customer service, increase marketing effectiveness and reduce operational costs.

IBM is in a unique position to provide value as it manages massive amounts of data and client transactions in cloud environments, including more than $100 billion in commerce transactions a year and 4.5 million daily client transactions. But is the story too complex to sell to its target audience?

A Multi-Platform Cloud Strategy

IBM Commerce on Cloud promises the benefits of cloud economies, such as low upfront capital investment, pay-for-use models, and instant and ongoing scalability. While purchase motivations are different for B2B and B2C companies, IBM noted, their sales and marketing programs are becoming virtually identical.

IBM also improved several of its on-cloud collaboration networks in a move to accelerate collaboration and digital information sharing across demand and supply processes to offset the unpredictable nature of commerce. Big Blue also announced new pricing and trade promotion collaboration capabilities for DemandTec.

Finally, IBM is offering a new certified Digital Data Exchange Partner program that works to allow marketers to manage their marketing, promotions and customer behavioral analytics. The exchange also includes a "gold tag" approach designed to assure enterprises that analytics and marketing partners are all operating off the same, relevant data.

SmartCloud: A Smart Bet

We caught up with Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT who attended the Smarter Commerce Summit, to get his thoughts on the event...