The Ipad's Achilles heel is that it doesn't lend itself well enough to Enterprise, and it can't serve two masters, design-wise. In the same way the Blackberry got popular for enterprise use, I think even a slightly clunkier device which fit right into the standard Windows enterprise and gave IT departments a lot of control, business apps, and integration with their infrastructure would do very well. Closer to what the IPad would be if it was instead just a PC in a different form factor. Where is the Dell Ipad?
I'd like to hear your thoughts on how the iPad doesn't lend itself well enough to Enterprise.
I have nothing specific in mind that disputes your assertion, but the linked article below says this, which sounds meaningful - "80% of Fortune 100 testing/deploying, 366 documented mass rollouts."
I'm also hearing that Microsoft views the iPad as a potentially disruptive force in the enterprise, though that is second hand.
Sure, they are deploying them, but only because nothing really fits the bill better, and often because their users beg them for them as toys. My wife has a director-level title at a large biotech. Some of this comes from her experiences. Here is where it falls short:
Most large businesses have a variety of native windows apps they rely on. The ipad works well as a web browser, but misses all of these. Companies have large investments in these programs, and having them inaccessible is a liability for the ipad. As an example, I have seen business units literally "powered" by excel spreadsheets and VBA. The iPad can't deal with things like this.
Standard native file access. How do I open a config file with "notepad" in the iPad? How do I browse to the file? What app opens it?
Windows permissions. The iPad can't work with Windows file system permissions, so it is a second class device on Windows-based networks, if you want to access files, it does not play well with your carefully created Windows permissions, so those access rules and group policies are lost on it.
The iPad is not a part of the standard microsoft security apparatus, so it is "special" in this regard. It won't get Windows updates, security bulletins, etc in the same way. It needs special attention from IT, and carries separate and perhaps unknown security risks.
Since the iPad is oriented toward finger-touch, stylus apps don't work well, so note taking apps don't work well.
The app store is consumer and game oriented, something businesses would specifically like to avoid on their devices, generally. Because of the app store approval process, and low price point expectations "Enterprise" business apps are loathe to move to it and risk a heavy investment that could be arbitrarily destroyed.
The iPad's success in the Enterprise is really a result of a failure of imagination and execution by Apple's competitors.
