Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) has unveiled a digital whiteboard that will allow users to organize meetings and scribble notes on a wide digital screen while remaining connected to the cloud. The first cloud-based video-capable device from Cisco will be known as Spark Board and will be built around the networking giant’s Spark cloud service. Besides serving as a digital whiteboard, the Spark Board can be used as a video conferencing display and a screen-sharing presentation tool.
Plug-and-play feature
One of the product’s most competitive feature is that it offers plug-and-play.
“We needed a product where anyone could come in the room and without having ever seeing the device or even knowing what its name is, automatically wirelessly connect,” the senior vice president and general manager of IoT and Application Business at Cisco, Rowan Trollope, said.
To connect with their mobile devices, users will need to download the Spark app and they will then be automatically connected to the smart board. This takes away the need for special Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
The simplicity of the Spark Board could give the Cisco whiteboard a competitive advantage over similar products like the Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Surface Hub. Microsoft’s digital whiteboard has, for instance, been compared to a personal computer on the wall.
Ease of use and price advantage
With other conferencing gear from Cisco already in use, the Spark Board is likely to increase their uptake since it will make them easier and more convenient to use. At the moment other smart boards, when integrated with Cisco’s conferencing tools, are complex and difficult to set up and use.
The Spark Board will also be cheaper than Microsoft’s Surface Hub and the Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Jamboard. Spark Board’s 55-inch version is expected to cost about $4,990. In contrast, Microsoft’s 55-inch version of the Surface Hub costs from $9,000 while Google’s Jamboard comes in at a little under $6,000.
As per a study conducted by Cisco, market opportunities for smart boards are huge at the moment. This is because only about 7% of conference rooms in the world have video conferencing capabilities.
In Tuesday’s trading session, Cisco Systems Inc rose by 1.09% to close the day at $30.60.
