10/25/2007 -- Cisco Systems Inc. last week unveiled its Cisco Mobile Government offering, a new package designed to help state and local governments implement and benefit from wireless technologies.

Industry watchers like the idea, which they say gives Cisco a means to target a market (the government vertical) that is ill-served by existing, vertical-specific solutions. Moreover, analyst say, Cisco's Mobile Government offering also amounts to a trial of sorts for enterprise mobility.

"[N]ot only does it represent a concerted push into the large government vertical, it also gives Cisco the opportunity to highlight mission critical wireless solutions that will find their way into the enterprise," wrote Michael Brandenburg, an analyst with consultancy Current Analysis. "Although municipal WiFi has had difficulties in recent times, it has been most successful when specific public safety and other local government applications have been trialed. These kinds of applications have a more easily quantifiable ROI than other types of services targeting consumer internet access or economic development."

Cisco's announcement mostly represents enhancements and additions to existing products, according to Brandenburg. Moreover, it targets segments -- including local governments and law enforcement -- that don't exactly seem like mirrors of the average enterprise.

However, Brandenburg said that's missing the point: Many of Cisco's Mobile Government enhancements -- such as integrated video security and the incorporation of Call Manager Express -- also address the needs of enterprise customers. Besides, the benefits of municipal or even larger WiFi implementations should inevitably redound to the enterprise.

"[B]y taking the approach of serving the government users first, then offering the community public access as a benefit, Cisco is likely to provide an alternative to or jumpstart a number of failing municipal WiFi projects, which the enterprise can leverage for its own field service and mobile worker applications," Brandenburg pointed out.

Cisco Mobile Government is far from a slam dunk, of course. For one thing, some of the wireless features available to public sector customers -- including a dedicated wireless spectrum for backhaul and meshing -- are currently beyond the reach of enterprise users. This has the effect of limiting Cisco's ability to apply these technologies across all of its target verticals, according to Brandenburg.

Cisco must also counter the perception that public or municipal WiFi is a bust. "Regardless of Cisco's commitment to municipal WiFI or to the government vertical, the market remains in a difficult position, where municipalities and service providers alike are having second thoughts," Brandenburg said. "This is far from an ideal environment in which to be selling devices and applications." --Stephen Swoyer