OK, hands up: Who hasn't sold an iPad to a big biz? The UK channel is tapping into enterprise demand for fondleslabs - well, iPads - with business-to-business sales going through the roof, figures from market watcher Context show. Approximately 136,000 tabs were shipped in Blighty by distributors in Q2, up from just 26,000 a year earlier, and of these 63.5 per cent were sold to …
"I hate Windows 8 for desktop, but regarding RT I've got to agree with you.. the fact it will have such tie in with our existing infrastructure and security, renders Crap-Pads redundant."
With a lot of corporations moving internal apps to intranet/extranet web apps, what is the tie-in exactly? The MS "security" solutions aren't actually security solutions, but just policy controls to enforce corporate standards.
And if a corporate does write an internal app for the iPad, what is the likelyhood they will port it to Windows 8/RT? Given the Zune, and Windows Phone 7 fiascos, it would crazy to port anything to Windows 8/RT unless MS pays you to.
Because with XBOX, XBOX 360 and Zune, Microsoft have shown they can hit it right out the park first time when it comes to top selling, reliable hardware. They are a hardware company after all: Ballmer told us.
Meanwhile "crapple" (cringe) have only had 30+ years experience of hardware, so they are basically amateurs compared to Microsoft, who've been making Mice for years. Remember: hardware company, Ballmer told us.
That isn't to say Microsoft shouldn't be applauded for rolling the dice with surface. But to underestimate Apple's head start and expertise is very foolish.
More realistic scenario:
IT: "justify your need for an iPad"
Manager: "Pardon? If you want the business justification, I am actually going to be using the iPad for email and reading meeting papers outside of office hours. Of course it's very likely I'll also read the news online, do some sudoku, and play angry birds for a while, as well as looking at facebook, but you already know that. I can give you the "I'm your boss, just give it to me" justification if you prefer?"
IT: "grumble grumble, lock-in, lock down, remote admin blah blah"
Manager: "meh, I've read about that somewhere before, could it have been in your job description? Better hop to it then. Oh, and make sure it's on a decent data plan and is enabled on our VPN, thanks."
In the last year, it's been 60% Android tablets, 40% iPads. Most companies shy away from Apple tablets due to their closed nature. Only the real fashion conscious ones insist on iPad, the practicality of the Android tablets and the superior device administration are the main factors usually.
LOL, sure. The "closed nature" is a selling point for companies, it means they can control what goes on their tablets and makes security easier. The thing I find funny is all these Android fans saying the iPad is closed implying it difficult to put non approved apps on an Apple device. Your doing Apples job of selling to the enterprise for them.
iPads are 75% of units shipped, UP from last year, leaving at most 25% for Android. Did you even read the article? The split may be 60:40 for Android in your little backwater, but "most companies shy away" is a load of rubbish.
Our IT department long ago got over itself and learned to deal with iPads and iPhones on the network. "Superior device administration" is moot when it's only the nerds that want Android, and they flash the device to a custom ROM the moment they pull it out of the box. Had exactly this conversation with one of our techs the other day who was touting the remote admin benefits of android compared to iOS- asked what rom he was running on his Galaxy phone and if it was still locked down according to spec...FAIL.
actually own the networks and the companies that they're determined to "protect" from Apple kit?
If not then, in my experience, they'll allow Apple kit if they're told to do so.
Enough of this "computing as an end in itself". Computing power is a utility and the real world expects to be able to plug into it and get what they want from it. Techies get paid for figuring out how to make that work, that is all.
Sales people have no intention of selling things which would be beneficial to the customer. They sell what (they believe) the customer wants.
It has always been that way. Look at "Office Software". No matter what product you have, it's barely suited for typical tasks in an office. Just try writing a letter with one of those "word processors" or do some calculation with a spreadsheet. It usually looks good in demos, but in reality it's just a waste of time.
Still it's sold and bought, despite it wasting man-decades of productivity.
The fact that something is sold to businesses is in no way an indication of it being suitable for businesses. Particularly in IT, businesses don't care about what brings them forward, but just buy random stuff based on what the boss says.
I have NEVER used an Apple or iPhone but I know they are rubbish I hate everything about them anyone who has one I instantly dislike and I try to be as rude and as obstructive to them as possible, I will never ever use an Apple and I will continue to hate them and tell everybody I know and everybody I meet they are overpriced and dont work and are really evil Microsoft Vista and Windows 7 are the best and a computer is not a computer unless it is Intel and Microsoft PERIOD.
Apart from toys, they work well where-ever people used to have a clipboard.
Data collection/display rather than processing - there's plenty of that in business.
They are probably a little more robust that a standard laptop - no spinning drive, lighter when they hit the floor, case more easily, and therefore frequently, closed.
There's plenty of scope for business here; not where you *need* a pc, but where a pc might have been used but wasn't really needed. Market researchers, insurance/mortgage salesmen, mobile hotel/restaurant staff, taxi billing, that sort of thing.
There's plenty of commercial activity that happens outside an office and away from a desk.
I know one major manufacturer that's put ALL their maintenance manuals on iPads, using iBook. Saves their maintenance guys carrying around 40lbs of paper and it's more up to date. They're busy rolling out 5k units....
Pretty much every executive I know uses them, they're much easier to drag from meeting to meeting and the battery life is far better. Since most of what they do is read email with the occasional presentation, it's much better all around.
And because they are so locked down, IT has very little 'remote management' to do. What ever is missing can easily be handled by tools like MobileIron. Only people who are short sighted or scared of new things would argue that iPads don't belong in the enterprise... Maybe it's just old skool job security at work.
This post has been deleted by its author
The Register 
Biting the hand that feeds IT
Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998–2024
