The Apple iPad is rapidly breaking into the corporate workplace as businesses find that the tablet-device is more secure than they expected. Many companies, including SAP, Wells Fargo, and Mercedes-Benz are allowing iPads to be used for business operations.
Generally, businesses spend a lot of time and effort to make sure that the programs and applications that they want to use are safe and secure. Wells Fargo spent two years examining the iPhone before determining that it was okay for their banker employees to use at work. Wells Fargo only took two weeks to clear Apple’s iPad. Wells Fargo is so confident in the strength of the iPad that Amy Johnson, a Vice President at Wells Fargo, said that the iPad could be used to approve multimillion dollar wire transfers with no complications.
Employees at SAP have the same confidence in the iPad. Rob Enslin, the North American President at SAP, said, “It’s allowed me to almost run a paperless office.” Enslin brings his iPad everywhere with him on his business trips, with nothing else but his BlackBerry. Enslin explained that he uses his iPad for anything from accessing business applications to customer information to any other corporate data. Mercedes Benz employees were as impressed with the iPad’s capabilities as Enslin. Employees use the iPad to order cars on-the-spot with customers on the floor. Mercedes Benz employees have already charged $5 million in car payments with the iPad. The company plans on providing iPads for all of their 350 U.S. Dealerships.
Apple’s iPad
Originally, the iPad was advertised as a consumer toy because of its digital books, interactive games, and video and music features. Now, Apple is emphasizing the benefits of using iPads in the workplace because they increase productivity without compromising sensitive information. Workers can use the iPad to check their email, perform finance operations, approve ship orders, and many other things. This on-the-go tablet is easy to bring along because it does not have the weight of the average laptop, but it performs most basic tasks of a laptop computer. Ted Schadler, the Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, a market research advising company, said, “This iPad thing has taken the world by storm. It came in as a consumer product and very quickly the people who actually bought them were businesspeople.”
The launch of the iPad was extremely successful, as 3 million of the tablet devices were sold in less than three months after its initial release. In a recent survey by Zogby International, 52% of a random selection of smartphone users said that they would likely use a tablet device, like the iPad, to work.
Many businesses are exploring the possibilities of the iPad in the workplace. Dan Shey, the Practice Director for Enterprise at ABI Research, said, “A lot of businesses right now are in experimentation with these devices.” While many companies are recognizing the potential of the iPad, others may keep their distance as the iPad does not have all of the capabilities of a larger computer. Tablet devices have smaller screens, no keyboard, and they cannot multitask.
The Apple iPad is dominating the market right now, but there are many companies who are planning to release their own tablet devices. Hewlett-Packard, Dell, LG Electronics, and Samsung Electronics all have plans to release a similar device. Cisco announced in late June their plan to release the Cisco Cius, a videoconferencing tablet. Fortunately for Apple, the iPad is the only compatible device with Apple computers, so Apple will have loyalty from all companies who use Mac computers and are interested in tablet devices.
You can read more about the specific details of the iPad on Apple’s website.
To view iPad Business Apps.
[Photo courtesy of myhubintranet.]
