Does Cisco's Cius Tablet Make Sense for Banks?

By now you've read about Cisco's iPad-like new Cius tablet targeted at enterprises. The tablet uses the Android operating system and its key feature is telepresence (videoconferencing), with high-definition video streaming and a five megapixel camera that refreshed at 30 frames per second. The tablet comes with collaboration software including Cisco Quad (which provides document sharing and chat features), Cisco Show and Share (which is for creating videos), Cisco WebEx Connect (presence awareness plus instant messaging, audio, VoIP, video, or integrated web conferencing), Cisco WebEx Meeting Center (the web client for hosting online meetings), Cisco Presence (knowing where employees are at all times, even if they're not logged in on instant messenger), and interoperability with Cisco TelePresence. Security is provided with Cisco's AnyConnect VPN.Does this new device, which will be available Q1 next year and cost $1,000, make sense for banks?

Wayne Mekjian, head of information services for Wells Fargo's technology and operations group, says he will look at the Cius when it comes out. "We look at just about everything that comes on the market if we think it will help in communicating with customers, employees and partners, or making employees' lives easier," he said in an interview this morning. "I'm sure we'd run into areas of security and cost, but we would definitely look at it."

Although the $1,000 price tag sounds steep, Mekjian theorizes that a bank like Wells Fargo wouldn't necessarily need to buy a device for every employee. "If you used it for people that travel a lot, often in groups, such as salespeople and executives, it would be a nice way for them to communicate without forcing them into a room. There's a lot of good uses for a device like this that wouldn't have to be at the individual level."

As for banks writing mobile banking apps to run on the Cius, that seems far away (although some, such as Wells Fargo, have written banking applications for the Android operating system, that should work reasonably well on the Cius).

"Banks are going to take a wait-and-see attitude," says Celent analyst Red Gillen. "Even if the Cius technology is fantastic, there's a simple issue of resource allocation. Banks don't have the resources to develop apps for the many mobile operating system (e.g., Apple, Android, Blackberry, Symbian, Windows) and hardware (mobile handsets, tablets) configurations. Banks right now are trying to prioritize mobile banking app development, based on OS/hardware adoption rates. The majority of mobile banking apps today are geared toward iPhones and Blackberrys. Now that Android-powered mobile phones are gaining popularity, there is a growing number of Android mobile banking apps." Gillen notes that there have been very few mobile banking apps developed for the iPad to-date. "It's not that mobile banking apps wouldn't work fantastically on the iPad, it's just that there isn't enough of a customer base yet to justify banks' app development. As iPad adoption levels grow, banks will likely see the need to develop apps. The same conditions apply to the Cius."