

Why IT needs to stop worrying and learn to love the iPad (and other tablets) - jfruh
http://www.itworld.com/mobile-wireless/160253/ipads-become-inevitable-enterprise-it

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TomOfTTB
As someone who runs an IT department and has tested these things pretty
extensively this article is uninformed. To address his points...

On Resentment: No IT department in their right mind acts because "users might
resent us if we don't". You try to make the users as happy as possible but
resentment is part of the job. Because people discover cool things all the
time that just aren't feasible given a corporate environment (web based office
suites are the perfect example of something users want and I'd love to
implement but since the data privacy guarantees aren't what they need to be it
can't be done).

On Functionality: So far we've found the iPad doesn't present many
functionality gains. The approach I've taken is a "try before you buy"
strategy. Which is I have an iPad that I lend to people who want one. In order
to get it they have to give me their laptops. Then after a week if they want
to keep the iPad in place of their laptop I let them. Thus far no one's kept
the iPad. Mainly because it lacks a full version of office and it lacks Flash.

That's not to say there aren't uses. We've deployed 5 iPads at this point to
people who just needed to view their data using Box.Net. But those were people
who didn't already have a laptop and we still get complaints about the iPad's
limited functionality (even ofter loading the full iWork suite)

To drive home the point let me quickly address his individual scenarios...

Constant Connectivity: Users who need this are better served with smartphones.
Constant Connectivity doesn't help if the person chooses to leave the iPad in
their car because they don't want to carry it around.

Data Access: This is the only point I agree with

form-based data entry: In our tests a person who can type 80 wpm drops to 13
on an iPad. So unless those forms are really, really short this isn't a valid
point (though I've been testing a Motorola Xoom because it has Voice
Recognition accessible in every app and the results are promising)

simple note taking: Again see the previous point. The notes better be very
short.

Presentations: Even though the amount of work to transfer a presentation to an
iPad is reasonably small it's still more work than unplugging your laptop,
shutting the clamshell and carrying it to the conference room. Plus, in my
experience most people finish their presentations about 30 seconds before the
meeting anyway.

~~~
epistasis
> Mainly because it lacks a full version of office and it lacks Flash.

How is Flash useful in this type of environment? Are they disappointed about
video and games?

~~~
TomOfTTB
Not so much video games as news sites like TMZ, MLB.com and so on. Definitely
not work related but that's sort of the point. They won't install the TMZ or
MLB app on their iPad because they don't want to get in trouble but they can't
access the web site. In the real world people use their work computers for
personal stuff and get annoyed when they can't.

(For the record I have a policy of no-repeat which means even if users tell me
they are going to personal sites I don't repeat it because I don't want them
to have to hide it from me if one of those sites causes a security problem)

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johngalt
Sounds great to me. A whole new platform that will need management tools,
testing, productivity apps all redesigned. It's like a whole new IT world to
spend money and time on.

 _People think IT policy making is like this:_ Secret IT meeting... "Take away
all hardware that's remotely useful, because we don't want to do any more
work!"... or alternatively "keep the equipment old and buggy to justify our
existence!" /twirls mustache

 _When IT policy making is really like this:_

IT: "Hey management it would be fun to try out some new
cloud/tablet/virtualization/SaaS etc..."

Management: "Is the cost greater than $0?"

IT: "Well yes for setup, but we could save-"

Management: "Denied"

And after managment reads this article it's:

Management: "Hey IT support tablets now!"

IT: "Can we drop support for Laptops?"

Management: "No! Of course not!"

IT: "Can we hire someone to help now that we'll have three devices for every
mobile user? (phone, laptop, tablet)"

Management: "Nope! Just work more unpaid overtime."

IT: "It will cost some money to build backup/recovery capabilities into these
devices."

Management: "No budget changes, we're in a spending freeze."

IT: "Then you won't be able to read employee email that they send/receive on
their iPad then."

Management: "NO IPADS ALLOWED!!!!"

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michaelbuckbee
Frasier Spiers is the IT Manager for a school in Scotland that gave an iPad to
every student in the school.

His blog - <http://speirs.org/> \- covers both the shortcomings and positives
of the rollout. In general it seems to be a qualified success (in particular
from a management standpoint versus laptops of any kind).

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pinaceae
iPads are great devices for the field force, especially pharma reps. Big
pharma is ordering them like mad. Reps love them, far less clutter, always on,
big enough to run a presentation on and capture a signature for a sample drop.

Cegedim, Veeva, ... iPad solutions are available and much sought after.

The old school tablet pc is dead in that vertical.

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dazzla
Great ammunition for those of us with day jobs. This is the kind of article
upper management loves and should really grease the wheels.

~~~
vetinari
Not really, it is just filler piece. It does not answer the question, that
your manager will ask you:

What's the ROI?

