The sheer impossibility of stopping the use of personally owned smartphones and tablets in business settings has led management and IT professionals to the rational conclusion that implementing a plan for application and data segregation is essential. To do that, there are a number of solutions that make sense and can help provide some solution to the problem. Current Analysis (PDF) has a more detailed study that is useful as well. Read more
As organizations start to take the first steps in providing their employees with tablets for commercial applications and use, a key decision point becomes “what is the optimal screen size?” With three categories of screen size (7”, 10-11”, and 13”) now common in the market, there are options. And the choices all have different benefits and tend to lend themselves to certain usage patterns or types of applications. Combining the user type, the applications, usage patterns, and technical features is essential to making good decisions.
Before we get too far into this discussion, it’s important to understand that in nearly every case, standardizing on a single form factor will probably not be the right way to go. It may be possible to standardize on one size during the first roll-outs, but once tablet use is wide-spread, it’s very important that size options are presented to the end user community. Trying to shoehorn all users into a single form factor will provide short-term savings in support and acquisition, but it will breed long-term discontent.
For commercial use, there are some key aspects of the size decision that need to be considered that are different from the consumer approach. This is primarily due to the applications that are going to be used. Read more
There are so many similarities between the early days of the PC (1978-1982) and this era in the nascent market for tablets. In both cases, the vast majority of purchases in these early days were made by consumers, even if the device was being brought into work. After all, there were no budgets for these new devices, and IT didn’t have any way to manage or deal with them. However, once they started showing up in larger numbers, this approach was no longer valid, and organizations moved to buy and manage them.
It took the PC 4 years to get to this point, but less than half of that for the tablet. And for the commercial tablet, the time has come for organizations to get in front of the wave and start providing employees with tablets, and weaning them from their personal devices. Tout de suite! Read more
There’s no need to wonder what to do about the proliferation of mobile devices and employees’ demonstrated desire to use those devices at work. So says Gartner in its latest report, based on a survey of IT professionals in large enterprises across the US, EMEA and Asia.
In “User Survey Analysis: Impact of Mobile Devices on Network and Data Center Infrastructure,” the analysts’ advice includes: Read more
There are at least two sides to every story, right? In the tale of the rise of the tablet, there are end-users on one side, just trying to get their work done or have some fun. On the other side: IT, the boardroom, and anyone else concerned with securing enterprise assets—notably, networks and data.
While the saga unfolds, and while you make decisions about how your organization will respond, here are five trends, issues or predictions you’ll want to keep an eye on. Read more
A recent IDC survey revealed that the majority of enterprises, across most global industry segments, are embracing tablets and mobile devices as a way to augment and improve their employees’ productivity.
The IDC Mobile Benchmark Study reveals what enterprises are thinking and doing about mobile device policies, tablet adoption, and the costs and practices involved with developing apps for them. Read more
Tablets and other hand-held mobile devices can improve employee productivity, contribute to sales enablement and accelerate response time for managers. However, many IT professionals are unprepared to support their adoption in the enterprise and are failing to move toward a user-centric approach to delivering IT services. Many IT managers remain wary of personally owned mobile devices due to potential security concerns. Read more
