Cisco announced this week that it will no longer invest in its enterprise tablet, the Cius, citing "market transitions" and opportunities for "the broadest choice of collaboration options" as the impetus.
In a blog post on the company's website on Thursday, OJ Winge, Senior Vice President of Cisco's Telepresence Technology Group, quietly noted that the Cius tablet would receive no further funding.
B.Y.O.D. takes over
According to the Cisco IBSG Horizons Study from earlier this month, "95% of organizations surveyed allow employee-owned devices in some way, shape or form in the office."
The study also found that 36% of enterprises fully support devices that employees bring from home, like an iPad or Android tablet.
Winge asserted that these findings are evidence of a "major shift" towards B.Y.O.D. (bring your own device) workplaces, where tablets act as personal media and communication devices, then transfer seamlessly into business activities.
Because of this shift, Cisco has reset its sights on software like Cisco Jabber (messaging) and Cisco Webex (remote conferencing), which it already offers for third-party PCs and tablets.
With Windows 8 on the horizon, and the slew of tablets it's slated to support, in addition to the rising popularity of Android tablets following the market expansion of the iPad, it's a tough time for any tablet manufacturer to compete.
Limiting the device to business-only functions now seems ill-fated from outset.
It's with certain reluctance that Cisco relinquishes its in-road to the tablet hardware space. The company, for now, remains cool about the networking arenas it already dominates.