Corporations Seeing Value In The iPad

While the iPhone has never taken hold with corporations like the BlackBerry has, it appears the iPad is a different story. Considered by many to be little more than a toy, many companies are seeing much greater value in the iPad. The iPhone was dismissed early by major corporations due to it's lack of enterprise security features. With iOS being much more refined and secure at the time of the iPad launch, this was not a concern in the iPad's case. Also, unlike the iPhone, it is entering a market virtually devoid of competition. An article on BusinessWeek.com, gives an example of how one company is handling the iPad differently:

"Wells Fargo (WFC) spent two years studying the iPhone before letting bankers use the device at work. Apple's (AAPL) iPad, released in April, took just weeks to get cleared."

People who consider the iPad to be an entertainment device may be wondering what corporations are using the iPad for. The same article gives us a few real world examples:

"SAP (SAP), Tellabs (TLAB), and Daimler's (DAI:GR) Mercedes-Benz are using the tablet-style computer for tasks as varied as accessing work e-mail, approving shipping orders, and calling up on-the-spot auto-finance options."

While the iPad may not have seen wide adoption yet, many companies are reporting that they are currently evaluating the device. In fact, a poll of smartphone users done by Zogby International found that 52% of respondents said they would most likely use a tablet PC, like the iPad, as a workplace tool. Another factor for companies will be what applications are available. Currently there are still very few content creation and editing tools available. Though Android tablets will be hitting the market toward the end of the year, they will still likely lag behind on the app side, giving the iPad an ongoing advantage. No matter how many apps are available, there is still the fact that many businesses use a very specific set of applications. If even one of those has no version available, they may not be able to make the switch to a tablet. Is Cupertino's "Magical Device" also a corporation's practical device? It looks like we'll see in the very near future.

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