iPad for the Enterprise: Is the Time Right?
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CSC Mobile Enterprise
We’ve packaged mobility products with industry-proven standard CSC elements such as service model, help desk, operations and lifecycle management, within these portfolios:
• Mobile Executive includes personal information management (PIM) calendar, contacts and corporate address book, corporate email, managed desktop-like service for handheld devices (HHD), delivered over the air (OTA) – by utilizing wireless connectivity.
• Mobile Worker features wireless enablement of line-ofbusiness and enterprise applications, customized application development and support services for wireless capable HHD, managed desktop-like service for ‘specialized’ HHD (e.g. ruggedized, industrialized, etc.), OmniLocation (CSC location intelligence solution) services (GPS/GIS).
• Mobile UC (Unified Communications) extends corporate iPBX services to handheld devices (one phone, one number and one voicemail), voice and data integration, presencebased services, wireless expense management (WEMS) and communications-enabled applications (CEA).
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by Phil Grove, Srinath Ramaraju and Trevor Kirk
News generated about the iPad since its launch in April is well deserved. In its first 80 days of production, Apple sold three million iPads. And sales estimates for 2010 climb as high as seven million units for the year1.
Steve Jobs classifies the iPad as a third category of device, fitting somewhere between the laptop and smartphone. He further characterizes this category as better than a laptop and a smartphone in the following key areas: Web browsing, email, photos, videos, music, games and eBooks (Apple, 2010).
Clearly, the iPad’s primary focus is the consumer market, much like the iPhone was after its release. However, like the iPhone today, there is considerable interest within the enterprise market where verticals could benefit from the potentially rich applications and usability of this device.
Many types of companies could find the iPad useful, such as those looking to increase sales opportunities, improve the visibility and usability of their data to customers; publishing, training or entertainment companies looking for another way to deliver content; and enterprises interested in extending corporate data and services to consumer devices.
Disrupting the market
The iPod disrupted the music player market. The iPhone disrupted the smartphone market. Apple, well known for its innovation, progressive thinking, “hip” factor, marketing approach and brand name, is now disrupting the netbook/tablet market. With the release of the iPad, Apple has jump-started what could have been considered a fairly stagnant market where innovation is concerned.
Already more than a dozen competing devices have surfaced from confirmed sources such as Samsung, HP, Dell, Cisco, Fujitsu and Lenovo to rumored developments from Google, Microsoft and even RIM. The entire market has been reacting in an attempt to catch up to what Apple is doing in hardware, user interface and application distribution (App Store), even though the hardware or software itself may not be superior in some regards to competing devices.
There is something about the energy and momentum that Apple creates when it releases products that demands attention. There is also speculation that the iPad will disrupt the e-reader (Kindle) market2.
As there are a few well-publicized gaps in the iPad today such as a lack of multitasking, camera, mouse support, printing, GPS (in Wi-Fi only models) and expandable storage, it is important to make an objective assessment of the iPad in the enterprise to determine whether iPad should be deployed, where it would be most effectively utilized and how best to support it when employees bring their own iPad into the workplace.
For this, and for any new technology reviewed, CSC utilizes a bottom-up assessment based on work styles, in addition to a top-down business requirements assessment to define appropriate product selection. We feel the introduction of Apple’s iOS 4 will propel the iPad into a more enterprise ready state. iOS 4 has introduced more than 100 features including security, device management and application improvements, as well as multi-tasking.
Securing the enterprise
Overall, one should presume that the risks that currently concern an enterprise regarding iPhones should be applied to the iPad as well. In fact, many feel the risks are even greater given the additional capabilities of the iPad, including the most immediate threat of phishing attacks and browser exploits3. The iPad employs the same encryption as the iPhone, which was effectively rendered worthless soon after its release4.
Gartner says, “In creating the perfect road warrior machine for the mobile workforce, Apple has created a repository for gigabytes of sensitive corporate data without any apparent way to a) secure it or b) remote-wipe it should the machine be lost or (more likely given its initial highly desirable status!) stolen.”5
At a high level, this is true. However, this is also true with other technologies. USB drives, SD cards and many other portable devices have gigabytes of capacity as well, are just as portable and are easily overlooked in the overall methodology for securing corporate data. Strategically, any enterprise’s approach, as it is at CSC, should secure corporate data wherever possible to mitigate risk of data loss regardless of the end point.
Furthermore, “Whereas the iPhone was never likely to be used to store gigabytes of corporate data, however, the iPad is designed for just that. And the use of basic office productivity applications means that some means of quickly and easily getting the documents on and off the device is required. A quick look through the new SDK reveals that it will be achieved by making those documents available via a mountable share – a far cry from the current situation where applications and their data are sandboxed.”5
Evaluating iPad within the enterprise
The fact that millions of iPads are being sold is important for an enterprise to consider. Although laptops and smartphones have filled an important role in mobilizing business processes, that role is well understood. In energizing the market between the laptop and smartphone, devices like the iPad, fueled by strong annual growth, will present an important opportunity for additional use cases in the mobile work force.
From field workers to knowledge workers, from doctors to a mobilized sales force, from an insurance agent to an artist – the use cases for mobile devices are many. In the enterprise space, the focus should be on finding the right device for the job.
It is clear that the iPad falls between the Ultra Mobile Devices and Mobile Internet Devices classifications (Diagram 1). The typical profile of a user with this category of device is one who is frequently on the move and interacts with business processes and information from a limited set of applications.
Keeping in mind the profile for a mobile worker and the application interaction, here are a few use cases to further clarify the potential fit for the iPad within an enterprise. As enterprises evaluate the iPad for inclusion in and integration with business processes, many more will emerge.
• Procurement Approval: An executive off site at a customer engagement is corresponding via email with supply chain regarding a vendor agreement for the customer. Using the sales opportunity as leverage, supply chain works a new deal with the vendor providing additional savings. A purchase order is issued and an email is sent to the responsible executive. Using the iPad, the executive reviews the work order and approves the purchase. Updated costs are applied to the presentation material and sent to the executive. In a follow-up meeting later that day to finalize the deal, the executive uses the iPad’s support for VGA output to present the updated opportunity with the new price.
• Health Care/Patient Care: In the U.S., hospitals have begun piloting an application for the iPad to deliver content that helps patients and their families better understand common medical procedures. A Florida hospital is using an interactive Q&A video featuring a young boy and his stuffed toy as he undergoes a CT scan. The videos are relevant to a particular age group, engaging, entertaining and conversational. Patients can view videos and testimonials on iPads in the hospital or download the content directly to their iPad at home or while traveling6.
• Health Care and Virtual Desktop: Due to fiscal and functional challenges, a California hospital is turning to the iPad to display key information, more effectively enabling their mobile healthcare workers such as hospice and home health nurses. By using the Citrix Receiver for iPad application, the hospital system can view radiology images, ECG results and other key results. A $600 - $700 iPad integrated with virtual desktop services becomes a compelling alternative to a touch screen medical tablet, which can cost upwards of $3,000. “Battery life, cost and the ability to have a virtual desktop on the iPad appear to be the three key drivers of iPad implementation in healthcare right now.”7
• Field Service: A field worker is alerted to a repair and dispatched to a remote site. After having been guided to the site via interactive maps and directions, the arrival of the field worker on site updates the backend “Trace Me” functionality. While at the site, the worker can pull up a health history for field equipment, and view previous work orders or a schematic for the equipment in need of repair. Once the job is complete, work order management integration sends the details of the completed work to close out the job in the work order system, complete with pictures.
Finding the right device, for the right job
The delivery of any new technology should follow a phased approach, beginning with an Assessment Phase, transitioning to a Business Case and Planning Phase and ending with a Development and Deployment Phase, as outlined in Diagram 2.
User needs are broad, ranging from stationary to mobile or from simple operations to complex engineering and data-intensive jobs. On the software side, substantial progress has been made in order to meet specific needs, even for professionals in specialized niche sectors. Hardware is on the same trend and we have seen and will continue to see many more devices brought to market.
With CSC Work Style Assessment, the business drivers, events and scenarios are analyzed and combined in a top-down methodology to determine a list of objectives. In addition, the people, places and technology are analyzed and combined from the bottom up to determine an appropriate work style. It is only then that the right device for the right job can be ascertained and given its proper position within an enterprise’s priorities for technology adoption.
Conclusion
The iPad certainly is an intriguing device. From the core applications that were re-tooled for the iPad’s hardware specs (browsing, email, calendar, contacts, photos, eBooks, games and videos), it is clear the user experience, interaction, integration and adaptation in the device have raised the bar for lightweight mobile devices. But is that reason enough to invest up to $800 in the iPad for enterprise use?
Apple’s Tim Cook cautions the public when they hear the term “enterprise”, indicating the actual enterprise market is only 10 percent whereas the consumer market is 50 percent, which is where Apple’s “heart, soul and DNA are.”8 So to say that the iPad is consumer focused is a foregone conclusion.
It is interesting to note very similar shortcomings still exist with the iPhone, and yet 75 percent of Fortune 100 companies are either deploying or currently testing the iPhone for deployment, with 50 percent of Financial Times 100 doing the same thing8.
Phil Grove is global director of CSC End User Services.
Srinath Ramaraju is a principal consultant for CSC India.
Trevor Kirk is a mobility engineer for CSC.
1. ipad.org. (2010, February 18). iPad Sales Projections. Retrieved April 21, 2010, from ipad.org: http://ipad.org/ipad-sales-estimates/
2. Segan, S. (2009, May 5). How the Apple iPad Could Kill the Kindle. Retrieved April 21, 2010, from PCMAG.COM: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2346545,00.asp
3. Leyden, J. (2010, January 29). Experts fret over iPad security risks. Retrieved March 23, 2010, from The Register: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/01/29/ipad_security/
4. Chen, B. (2009, July 23). Hacker Says iPhone 3GS Encryption Is ‘Useless’ for Businesses. Retrieved March 23, 2010, from Wired: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/07/iphoneencryption/
5. Walder, B. (2010, February 4). Bob Walder. Retrieved March 23, 2010, from Gartner Blog Network
6. Hoeksma, J. (2010, April 14). US hospitals pilot iPad video apps. Retrieved April 21, 2010, from eHealth Europe: http://www.ehealtheurope.net/News/5828/us_hospitals_pilot_ipad_video_apps
7. Husain, I. (2010, April 21). California Hospital ordering iPads for healthcare. Retrieved April 21, 2010, from iMedicalApps: http://www.imedicalapps.com/2010/04/hospital-ordering-ipads-healthcare-use/
8. Ritchie, R. (2010, February 23). Apple COO Tim Cook Speaks! Retrieved March 23, 2010, from TiPb: http://www.tipb.com/2010/02/23/apple-coo-time-cook-speaks/?utm_ source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+TheIphoneBlog+(The+iPhone+Blo g)&utm_content=Google+Reader%20)