The Bloor Perspective: Egg payments, the ultra-PC and Cisco the storage company?

Over recent times storage has become a lot more complex and a number of new names have sprung to prominence, especially in networked storage environments, where the likes of Brocade, DataCore, McData and Vixel have made a significant impact. It is into this highly charged, specialised field that Cisco, one of the largest IT companies of all, is attempting to make a splash. The question is: are organisations ready to risk buying Cisco's storage router technology rather than playing it safe with one of the acknowledged storage specialists?

Cisco is widely acknowledged to be the market leader in internet connectivity and the company has become one of IT's real heavyweights, able to exert significant influence in all areas of networking and associated technologies. Last year the company used its experience to create a new switch, the SN5420, targeted squarely at storage, specifically to provide secure access to Fibre Channel storage across IP networks through Internet Small Computer Systems Interface (iSCSI) technology.

The Cisco SN5420 Storage Router implements the iSCSI protocol to extend access of Fibre Channel fabric and attached storage devices to a broad base of servers. The SN5420 is a two-port box that sits between a LAN switch and SCSI or Fibre Channel storage systems. It makes use of many features familiar to users of Cisco's more mainstream product set such as Catalyst routers.

The SN5420 was launched with support for Solaris, Windows (NT and 2000) and Linux servers and has now extended the coverage to include IBM's AIX and HP-UX. At the same time the device now supports Virtual LAN (VLAN) authentication, authorisation and accounting along with a number of new MIBs (management information bases) to facilitate ongoing management.

These developments are certainly essential for Cisco to be taken seriously as a storage infrastructure player. Strong technology alone is not enough, especially in a field that is subject to major marketing efforts by the incumbent gorillas.

In this area of business Cisco is faced with a number of suppliers whose names have become synonymous with storage. Taking on the usual suspects of Compaq, EMC, HDS, HP, IBM, HP and StorageTek will be no easy feat and if Cisco's offerings begin to garner significant attention from major users, these heavyweights are sure to respond.

*Online payment with a difference*

This week saw an announcement by Egg, the online banking arm of the Prudential, that it will be launching a service for customers to send money to anyone with an email address and a UK-based bank account. With the proliferation of online transaction methods the big question is: is there room for more?

In order to use the service, registered customers simply enter the amount of the transaction, the account from which funds are to be sent, the recipient's email address, two security questions and an optional personal message. The funds are transferred from the customer's debit card or Egg account, through the BACS system and are credited to the recipient's bank account within 3-4 working days.

It's cheques by email but the major difference that Egg is keen to point out is there is no need for the recipient to be an Egg customer or to go through any form of registration process. Egg argues its system is simple and quick to use as it cuts through this red tape.

The Egg Pay service was started in response to research showing over 14 million people have an interest in digital payment services. Currently the account is free to existing Egg customers or those who choose to sign up. A limit of £200 has been set on payments in an attempt to reduce the risk of fraud.

At the moment the service is free of charge. Many of the existing services take some form of commission charge but Egg expects to roll out a fee-based system for commercial purposes at some point in the future.

Obviously, anything that encourages online commerce should be welcomed and nothing should be taken away from Egg for launching the services. The company makes much of the fact that the recipient doesn't have to register. While this is a good point, the company is certainly missing a trick. Many of the other systems require recipients to register. It makes the whole process viral and is how Egg could make inroads into the incumbents' market share.

So, hats off to Egg for a cracking good idea - only next time perhaps they need to think it through and make some money.

*A PDA challenger to revitalise the PC market?*

OQO, a company established in 1999 by former Apple employees, released its first device last week -- the ultra-personal computer, a fully functioning handheld wireless computer. Is the ultra-PC the future of computing?

The difference with the OQO device is that somehow it manages to pack the power of the average PC into a 9-ounce box measuring 4.9 inches by 2.9 inches by 0.9 inches, slightly smaller than current Compaq iPAQ devices. Under the cover is a 1GHz Crusoe processor, 256MB DRAM memory, 10GB hard disk and a 4-inch hi-resolution colour screen.

The impressive spec doesn't stop there - the key issue with any mobile device is how it speaks to the outside world and OQO have made sure it will speak to just about anything. Bluetooth, 802.11 wireless, 1394 port (Firewire) and 3 USB ports are included and to complete the package there is a lithium polymer battery that lasts eight hours on general usage.

Based on initial low production volumes, $1,000 looks a likely price with cuts expected as production ramps up. Initial sales will be direct over the internet with other hardware vendors reselling the product as demand increases.

The big difference is that the ultra-PC puts an end to the need to synchronise with a base station device. It also reduces the overall hardware investment, as all that it needs is a docking station, keyboard and monitor. For mobile workers it means far more powerful applications, which in turn will improve productivity.

Given the company's background is Apple, it goes without saying the device will be a well-designed and engineered product and it could just shake up the PC market in the same way Apple's own product lines have done.

Bloor Research is a leading independent analyst organisation in Europe. You can find out more at http://www.bloor-research.com or by emailing mail@bloor-research.com.