Does the iPad have the potential to make your staff more productive or is Apple’s latest hardware just an excuse to play at work?
Reactions to the iPad from analysts and reviewers have been mixed – some see a pure consumer product while others say the device could revolutionise business.
Aaron McDonald, market and channel manager at Gen-i, belongs to the iPad-as-a-business-tool camp, saying that his iPad is helping him do his job better.
“I’m struggling to find a reason to use my laptop now,” he says.
One application that makes him more productive is Citrix Receiver for iPad, which allows him to take his virtual office with him on the go.
“We have a demo set up on our cloud platform, ReadyCloud Server, so I can securely log into my Windows laptop and do anything I would normally do on my Windows machine, virtually through my iPad,” Aaron says.
He sees huge potential in giving employees an iPad, or similar tablet device, and running their desktops virtually in the cloud.
“They can take it with them anywhere, in addition to using it as their personal device.”
The iPad could work as the primary computing device in a completely wireless office, enabling flexible teams without compromising functionality, he says.
Bringing your own technology to work seems to be a growing trend and the smart organisations are embracing it, says Aaron.
“Employers that are looking to attract the best people – who have a choice of where they work – should be encouraging the use of these tools,” he says.
“I know what devices and tools are best for me and what is going to make me get my work done more efficiently.”
Westpac is embracing the new technology. As part of an $8 million investment in training of its staff, the bank uses the iPad as a mobile training device, says Ken Wallace, simplification lead at Westpac.
The business case is basic - more informed, confident staff means better customer service. The ipads provide staff with a reference source right at their fingertips, and can be used at work, at home, on the bus or train or anywhere else they want to use it.
Westpac released a couple of iPads “into the wild” as a trial to see what creative branch team members would find them most useful for. Besides using them for training at home, branch staff also had other ideas.
“Within a week, we got a spreadsheet with over 40 ideas of how they could use it with customers,” says Ken.
The team has also run some structured tests of the iPad's impact on communications and learning and early results look promising.
He says the iPads have given staff more confidence in dealing with new technology ideas with our customers, as well as boosting their creativity and enthusiasm.
Westpac worked with Gen-i to roll out secure wireless networking for the pilot. “It has given us the opportunity to take it to the next level and start using these devices with the customers,” he says.
"I can’t believe how much we are achieving with it - it’s stimulating people to think differently.”
Gen-i bid specialist Peter Davy is also finding his iPad useful on a daily basis. One of Davy’s favourite business apps is a task management tool called Things.
“It makes task management so easy,” he says. “It allows you to add tags and assign teammates to tasks. I use it every day and the iPad has paid for itself in increased productivity for me.”
For Peter, the iPad works as an in-between agent – taking him from his laptop at work to his home computer.
The iPad’s qualities as an entertainment device also bring business benefits to some companies. Australian airline Jetstar has been trialling iPads for onboard entertainment, including movies, TV programs, eBooks, music and games, and plans to roll out rental iPads on selected flights from September, according to the company. Passengers are able to rent the devices for A$10 during the flight.