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Employees Asking For iPad’s?
Since it’s inception, the iPad has garnered no shortage of attention. It most certainly is a fantastic device with broad appeal and a wide variety of useful functions.
The question is, is this a business device worthy of investment? Will it increase productivity for your employees?
I’m going to start off with my answer right off the top instead of keeping you waiting. No, the iPad is not a natural laptop replacement, and it is not likely a smart investment for most businesses at this time.
Not to say it is not a great device, but it is a device pointed at the consumer market for mobile entertainment, and social networking. The following is a list of the issues I see in using this as core business device:
- No built in printing capability. You need to buy an app to print. Granted, that is a reasonable workaround, but integrated printing would be a primary feature of any device that is intended for business.
- Availability and compatibility of business applications. The vast majority of applications for the iPad are for personal use, not business. Key line of business applications are most likely not compatible.
- Device is not designed for heavy typing. Business use would require adding an external keyboard, which then becomes awkward for moving about and storing. Multiple unattached devices are not convenient. Better to use a small notebook computer at that point.
- No flash support. Many websites and other presentation type materials use flash.
- Wireless only, no wired office support. Not a huge deal, but if your office is not wireless, it will be.
- Not file centric, but document centric. The way we think about computing in the office is at the document level. PC’s are setup around documents that then launch the application. This allows us to focus on the content, not the application. Mobile devices are application centric, which means you open the application to get at the files. While subtle, this becomes an issue when dealing with multitudes of files and file types during the course of a day.
Is this to say that an iPad is not worthy of purchase for business use? No, of course not. It can be a great addition to the tool set of any employee, as long as you understand it is not going to replace other workplace tools such as the laptop, but will be in addition to them. One of my employees purchased on for personal use and says that it is very handy for showing diagrams and brief presentations with clients. Could also be done on a laptop screen, but the flat device is easy to sit around and look at for quick presentations with small groups. He also admits that it is not a great business tool for him beyond that.
So, the final call for me is to hold off on iPad purchases for business as an investment, unless it is an investment in employee satisfaction, as surely your employees would enjoy having such a device. Just don’t expect productivity to increase, or other equipment costs to decrease. Considering that the tablet is just coming into its own, it is a certainty that most, or all of the above issues will be resolved by one product or another in the years to come, and that tablet devices will become a routine and required part of business in the future… but not yet.
Until that time,
Happy Computing!
Richard Brunke
