iPad @ Work
It's no surprise that more and more people are taking mobile tablets to work with them, a few throwing their heavy and bulky laptops to one side in exchange for compact mobile devices and opting for cloud computing for storage. In fact 91% of IT business professionals use an iPad for work! According to this article: http://bit.ly/15DP8KQ One of the problems however is that IT departments are a little nervous at the loss of control with the iPad. At the moment the iPad can't be issued software patches and stop users from updating software amongst other things that IT departments like to have control over in order to make sure things are secure. However the IT manager can remotely log into the device, wipe data and turn off the camera, making it easy to protect sensitive data if the device was to be stolen or lost.
Despite a few things being out of companies' control, many businesses are now saying that it actually works out cheaper for them to replace old laptops with an iPad 2 or 3. Rather than buying a brand new laptop! Barclays are among the many companies who deployed [8,500] iPads for staff due to staff demand. The iPads will be used to interact with customers in the hope that it will improve their experience. LinkedIn are another company deploying iPads. Recently the director of the company surprised his 3,500 full time staff by handing everyone an iPad mini! Although this appears as more of a gesture of thanks for all LinkedIn's employees' hard work, there is no doubt that many will be using their iPad for work. Follow the link for the full article: http://bit.ly/XwpTnp Surely LinkedIn's Director would not have given his staff an iPad if he didn't expect them to use it at the office! It is really easy to see how the iPad can be viewed as "just a toy", due to its gaming apps and the fact that it's fun to use. However with the right apps and training the iPad can become the perfect work tool. Many people use their iPads for absolutely everything: organising their schedule, writing notes in meetings, creating documents. The possibilities have started to become endless. I'm sure there are quite a few companies who are a little worried to deploy iPads to their employees, not just because of cost or losing a few security controls in the IT department, but mainly for fear of people not being trained to use their devices. Well surprise, surprise there's an app for that! If you run or are a part of a company that is worried about deploying iPads mainly due to not having the time to train staff to use them. Then the KikStart app could be your saving grace! An interactive app that teaches you to use your iPad to its full potential. For more information on KikStart follow the link: http://bit.ly/RgOmfr If you would like to know a little bit more about KikStart from someone who's tried it then have a look at this review from iPad insights: http://bit.ly/XwptNI