Is Your Next Desk Phone a Tablet?
Is Your Next Desk Phone a Tablet? by Michael Finneran
Tablet computers have certainly been one of the hottest topics in enterprise computing since the introduction of the Apple iPad in 2010, and now everyone involved with UC is trying to get a piece of the action. While jumping on the bandwagon has always been great sport in the IT field, the value proposition must be valid, the user experience must be acceptable (or “awesome”), and the overall environment must be in sync with user expectations regarding the how, where, and why users are adopting this technology.
Tablet computers had been around for years with little success, but Apple figured out the formula to make them the solution to the problem you didn’t know you had. The key seems to be that while everyone else had looked at the tablet as a step down from a PC, Apple looked at it as an enhancement of the iPhone experience.
Now that Apple has sold 25 million iPads and they have become the must-have accoutrement of the tech set, UC vendors are trying to figure out how to integrate them into the unified communications and collaboration (UC&C) environment. The challenge they will face is understanding how users look at mobile computing and communications, and developing a solution that can enhance that experience in the most useful and compelling fashion.
UC Integration
The tablet “experience” truly is addictive; you almost look for things you can do on it. With the larger display and touch screen interface, the tablet seems destined to supplant the smartphone as your around-the-office mobile device for email, text, and voicemail. Voice and video calls are more of a challenge as the user would have to resort to a Bluetooth headset which doesn’t make much of a fashion statement and many find uncomfortable after a couple of hours. A speakerphone capability in the tablet is another option, but then privacy goes out the window.
Assuming you’ll be lugging this thing around with you, the big question is how the tablet will integrate with the overall unified communications and collaboration (UC&C) infrastructure. In this area, the IP PBX vendors (e.g. Avaya and Cisco) clearly have the inside track. In their combined Live/Web announcement for the Cius, Tom Puorro, senior director, product management at Cisco Key gave an excellent demo of how the Cius integrates with Unified Call Manager (Cisco’s IP PBX platform) and Cisco’s other UC&C and social networking products like telepresence, WebEx and Quad.
Cisco is following in Avaya’s lead in positioning the Cius as an enhanced desk phone. The Cius can be purchased with a desktop base station that includes a built-in handset and speakerphone. When docked, the Cius will act as a touchscreen keypad and the user interface will include all of the touch and stretch features of the tablet. It also will double as a mini telepresence station on the desk phone, but if you’re sitting next to a PC, what’s the point?
While it is in the dock, the Cius communicates over the wired infrastructure (i.e. Ethernet connection), but when removed from the dock, the connection transitions seamlessly from the wired to the Wi-Fi network even with a call or video in progress. This grab-it-and-go model fits nicely with the expected application set for the tablet, and Wi-Fi can provide essentially no-cost wireless connectivity around-the-office.
Avaya has been touting their user interface, “Flare Experience,” which allows a user to set up a conference by dragging buddies into a “spotlight.” You can then set-up a private “side-conference” by dragging selected participants into a separate spotlight. That Flare Experience is currently supported only on their own tablet, the Avaya Desktop Video Device (DVD), but they plan to have Flare clients for iPad and Windows PC devices later this year.
For their part, Apple appears to have little interest in developing capabilities to make the iPad an integrated element in an enterprise UC&C environment. However, if you have the hottest tablet out there, the other guys are going to beat a path to your door.
One big question will be how effectively the UC&C vendors will be in integrating operating systems like Android or Apple’s iOS. The mobile OS vendors control what APIs developers can get access to, and we have already seen developers thwarted in their attempts to integrate with core voice functions in the iPhone. One advantage tablet developers may have is that with a desktop-like browser on the tablet, they may be able to forego the app approach and simply design for a browser-based interface.
The other tablet we shouldn’t overlook is RIM’s PlayBook. RIM is coming at the integration issue from a different direction. They have positioned the PlayBook (at least initially) as a “smartphone adjunct.” The PlayBook includes only Wi-Fi connectivity, but it can connect to the cellular 3G/4G networks through a BlackBerry smartphone. Using a Bluetooth-based interface called BlackBerry Bridge, the user can access email, calendar, and contacts on their BlackBerry smartphone. RIM emphasizes the security capabilities and when the connection is broken, all smartphone information is erased from the tablet.
While Cisco and Avaya have been the first UC&C vendors to introduce their own branded tablets, they are not alone. At their consultant/analyst conference last May, NEC demonstrated a tablet-based desk phone that used a Samsung Galaxy tablet.
Which Tablet is it Going to Be?
If we assume that tablets will be invading the enterprise, the question then becomes: Which one? The major differentiating factors will be screen size (currently 7-inch or 10-inch), operating system (which defines the user interface and app environment), and connectivity. Apple launched the tablet wars with the 10-inch iPad and that size was copied in the Avaya DVD, but there are now a number of 7-inch models including the Cisco Cius, the RIM PlayBook, and the Samsung Galaxy.
I have PlayBook and an iPad, and personally I prefer the 7-inch PlayBook; I’d prefer it a lot more if it had more useful software. Bear in mind that I’m using it primarily for email and web surfing so the screen is big enough and the smaller size makes it easier to carry around. If I’m laying in bed watching videos, give me the iPad. As we have seen with smartphones, I expect each user will come to their own conclusion about what works best for them.
When it comes to operating systems, there are way more options to onsider. The top contenders are iOS (Apple), Android (Cisco Cius, Avaya DVD, Samsung Galaxy, Motorola Xoom, and others), and QNX (PlayBook). If you want to cast a wider net you could include WebOS (HP) and even Windows. iOS and Android clearly lead on the app front, though RIM is promising a translator that will allow the PlayBook to run the full library of Android apps, and that should include the UC&C apps as well.
With regard to connectivity, everyone does Wi-Fi so 3G/4G is the differentiating factor. The iPad comes in Wi-Fi or combined Wi-Fi/cellular versions, and the Avaya tablet has a USB port to connect a cellular modem. RIM is committed to delivering a 3G/4G PlayBook, and Cisco says that both Verizon and AT&T Wireless will introduce 3G/4G models of the Cius later this year.
For the moment, it appears that 75% to 85% of tablet sales are Wi-Fi only models, but that has a lot to do with the current state of the market. Tablets are typically used while stationary, and consumers are generally not interested in investing in an additional cellular data plan. For enterprises, in-office use will typically be on the Wi-Fi network, though the addition of voice and video traffic on tablets may require an upgrade in the Wi-Fi infrastructure.
Beyond in-office use, many organizations are looking at deploying tablets to field sales personnel to use in product demos. If those demos call for network connectivity, the best option would be 3G/4G rather than trying to connect over the customer’s Wi-Fi network.
The Big Challenge: Mastering Mobility
While I think the grab-it-and-go concept of the Cius is spot on, the one area where all of the UC&C vendors will have to improve is in understanding the full range of issues in the mobility market. Across the board we have seen UC&C vendors launching mobile UC clients and experimenting with dual mode Wi-Fi/cellular fixed-mobile convergence solutions, but without a hint of success. The reality is that users treat UC&C and mobility as separate areas, and the UC&C vendors haven’t been able to gain any real traction on the mobility front.
Along with expense management, the big topics we’re talking about in mobility are the bring your own device (BYOD) movement and figuring out how we will provide security and management for that increasingly diverse user population. That’s where tools like mobile device management (MDM) systems come into play. The only UC&C vendor offering those is Siemens, who is selling Afaria from Sybase (now an SAP company).
While Cisco and Avaya may have an inside track on integrating with a UC&C deployment, RIM has the upper hand when it comes to dealing with mobility buyers. While their market share has shrunk with the new contenders, the acquisition of ubitexx will allow RIM to manage iOS and Android devices along with their own smartphones and tablets through the BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES).
Cisco has caught on to part of the security problem, but only part of it. By incorporating their VPN technology into the Cius, they can provide secure remote access through home or unsecured public Wi-Fi networks. However, the Android 2.2 operating system used on both the Cius (and the Avaya DVD) does not provide onboard encryption, one of the core capabilities we look for in mobile security. That is one of the main reasons security-sensitive enterprises have been giving the thumbs down to Android.
Conclusion
UC&C can deliver significant benefits in terms of efficiency and productivity, but the challenge is to do that in an environment that is increasingly mobile. Up to this point, “mobile integration” has meant little more than “call forwarding” in the guise of simultaneous ring, extension-to-cellular, or preferred device ringing. When they have attempted anything more elegant than that, they have fallen flat.
The capability to integrate this expanding range of mobile devices with the wire-bound world of UC will be key in determining if there will be any future for the high-end (and high margin) desk set. Remember, desk sets last for 10 years and tablets last for two; will the next version of the tablet fit in the same base? Of course, a simple SIP-based client for the tablet might give the user all they really need, and thwart the UC&C vendors’ ambitions in mobility once again.
Mobility is probably the biggest challenge the UC&C vendors face today, as that is where the users’ attention is focused. Tablets introduce a new paradigm, and a new opportunity for UC&C vendors to capitalize on mobility. However, unless the solution fits in the user’s overall mobility plans, this could be yet another disappointment.