The iPad Continues to Thrive in the Enterprise

[Maura]

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According to a very interesting news story in the Wall Street Journal today, the iPad is very much thriving in the business world, contrasting greatly with the way in which the iPhone was viewed by businesses when it first came out. The article provides the example of a Chicago law firm, Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, which banned the iPhone when it first came out, but preordered 10 iPads before the tablet was even released. The firm’s technology department now has more than 50 attorneys set up with iPads, and expects to be issuing iPads instead of laptops as early as next year. This would seem to bear up Apple’s Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook’s comments back in July when he said that Apple was surprised how popular the iPad was proving to be with Fortune 100 companies.

The WSJ article points out that more than 500 of the 11,000 -plus iPad apps are in the business category, citing the example of the Citrix Systems app that enables people to access programmes stored in the cloud via the iPad, and that has already been downloaded more than 145,000 times.

“Everyone in IT is jumping on this one,†Ted Schadler, an analyst at Forrester Research told the WSJ. “Rather than wait for people to start complaining they’re saying why don’t we get a few of them in and see what they are good for.â€

Simon Woods of eye-care product firm Bausch & Lomb, which devised its own app for its salespeople, said that one of the main attractions of the iPad over the laptop was the quick start-up time, adding that when you’re in front of a customer, those few minutes saved can make all the difference between making a sale and not making a sale.

Source: Wall Street Journal

 

[WilliamOfOranje]

Tablets have also become very popular in the Healthcare industry and for educational purposes - some schools are even handing them out for free. That, in my opinion, is one of the most often overlooked aspects of the tablet PC phenomenon that has the potential to really change things for the better, replacing the dozens of school books and the traditional pen and paper that one goes through throughout their educational careers with a handy, easy to use, latest generation gadget that can do all those things and then some.


Jake from Tablet Reviews

 

[chrisadam]

Alexander added that although competitive products were in the works, nothing currently in development would prove a serious iPad competitor because rivals such as Dell, HP and Lenovo cannot yet offer an integrated hardware and software design.
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[Hasty]

It's not surprising.
People frequently need to use input devices but vertical screens are a real drawback when interacting with other people.

 

[pallentx]

I can see the iPad being valuable in client/sales presentation situations. I also know a few who ordered iPads to replace their laptops and either went back to the laptop, or now carry the iPad in addition to the laptop. Order do not always equate to actual adoption.

 

[jordexj]

iPad is a cultural revolution... Mark my words, Steve Jobs will be compared to Henry Ford and other history visionaries 100 yes from now...

 

[Gary E]

That's where I'm at ... on a consulting gig that has me deploying iPad's to their professional sales team. I have brochure-ware and video's on the device, but need a way to lock/hide/disable some of the other built-in apps to restrict the user to JUST business activities. You're able to lock out some of the apps but there are still others such as iPod, Mail, Maps that can't be ... anybody come across an efficient way to do this versus just placing them on another scroll page?

 

[IGonz]

Cool.
Weeks before the iPad was out people say it could not done and showing off articles about upcoming devices like the Microsoft Courier.

 

[Hasty]

Their biggest problem will be mass syncing. Don't fancy having to do that job.......

 

[Wakawaka]

It's size sells. Now if there was a program that made it very easy to make your own app. If this came, business would boomnwith use of iPad in the work place.

I could use mine at work, but no app. I do use it for maps and expense tracking..not so Fun