It’s kind of like the perfect storm… The Internet has exploded in growth and its ubiquity directly corresponds to the Commoditization of “Connected Devices”. It started with devices such as the iPhone and Blackberry and it’s spiked again with the introduction of the iPad.
Gartner announced this week: Without Proper Planning, Enterprises Deploying iPads Will Need 300% More Wi-Fi. This is pretty serious if you’re the one responsible for making sure these enterprise systems work reliably.
I’ve been in the IT industry for a while now and I can tell you from experience the adoption of new technology has ALWAYS been a hard sell to upper management. Then the iPad hits the market and the drive for adoption starts coming from the TOP of the orginization. The “Cool Factor” of the device made it the “thing” to have in the board room.
The fact that the iPad is NOT a laptop replacement is lost on the CEO, CFO, COO, etc.. I’ve seen people who once had to have perfection in their “productivity tools” all of a sudden accept the major limitations of their new toy. These limitations are not only limited to the iPad, all the tablets being wedged into the corporate world have limited features and poor security.
To be fair, I’ve tested the iPad & it was a fun toy. If you just want to surf the web and check your email it will do that just fine. If you want to use your accounting applications, ERP system, or edit complicated spreadsheets it’s going to have its challenges. I’m now testing the Blackberry Playbook which has similar limitations and a lot less available applications.
The only “Tablet” that I’ve ever used that, in my opinion, was worth anything was a Tablet PC where the screen could be rotated and reversed allowing you to use its 14″ touch screen. This, to me, is the best of both worlds. Full featured, powerful, and completely compatible with your existing workflow and environment. Is it a little bigger than the iPad? Sure it is but that difference is 100% worth it to me.
Do you have an iPad (or other tablet)? Does it do everything you expect?