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iPads and Tablets for Business?
Article by Marshall Wright
With the introduction of the iPad several years ago and the flurry of Droid based tablet computers since then, New Jersey businesses and employees are clamoring to include the devices as part of their daily work life. Is this a realistic expectation, and if so, what should businesses consider when deciding to deploy these types of devices?
Screen Size, Keyboard Size, Battery Life & Apps
Today’s tablet computers are largely supersized versions of SmartPhones. Most of the apps that will run on a smartphone will also run on a tablet. The key difference between the two is that the screen on a tablet is larger than that of a smartphone. Suddenly, the tiny keyboard keys on smartphones are finger sized on a tablet. With battery lives lasting a full business day and the ability to present most of a type written page on a screen, employees are clamoring for tablets.
Business useful apps that are available include Facebook, Skype, financial apps, Linkedin, navigation, flight tracking, traffic reports and more. Unfortunately, most business applications were designed to run on a Windows based computer, so user interaction through a tablet to most business applications is painful at best. Why is this? Most business applications were designed to work with a keyboard and mouse. Business applications software developers crammed as much information as they could on screens, so interacting with these Windows-based applications with a finger is frustrating and slow. There are a number of apps that provide the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) that may be used on a tablet to interact directly with Windows programs. We have been using these with mixed results for customers to gain access to their business applications.
Custom Business Apps
Help is on the way. Companies like
Creative Technology Designs, in partnership with SQL developers at DeckerWright Corporation, can develop custom apps to allow your staff to gain access to corporate data. These apps are designed specifically to talk to your business applications and may be deployed to your tablets allowing access to your business data through an interface designed to be accessed with your finger, not a mouse and keyboard.
Security & Mobile Access Costs
Several other considerations for businesses desiring to deploy tablets include
security and the cost of mobile access. The security tools included with tablets today don’t integrate well with the Windows security infrastructure. As a result, tablets represent a significant security vulnerability. Business, client or patient data that resides on a tablet may be easily accessed if a tablet is lost or stolen. Another consideration is the cost of providing a cellular data plan for each tablet that is deployed. With few tools to restrict employee usage, a single movie or video can use up an entire company’s data plan for a month. These un-budgeted expenses can break the bank in a hurry.
Seminar on the Business Use of Tablet Computers
Monmouth County Development Council (MODC)
DeckerWright Corporation, in conjunction with Creative Technology Designs, will be presenting at a seminar on the business use of tablet computers being run by the Monmouth Ocean Development Council (MODC) and being hosted by the Ocean County Vocational Technical School (OCVTS) on Wednesday, May, 30, 2012. Contact the MODC office to reserve your place in the seminar as seating is limited.
May 29, 2012
About the Author:
Marshall Wright of DeckerWright Corporation has been providing New Jersey businesses with HARDWARE, SOFTWARE & NETWORKING technology consulting services since 1984.
Looking for a New Jersey company to help remove malware on your business computer system?
Contact DeckerWright for Virus Remediation.
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