Will iPad Invade Enterprise as Quickly as iPhone Did?
An enterprise technology sales veteran predicts business users will walk right into work with the iPad before long -- and that CIOs better prepare.
CIO — Remember all the smug IT guys who scoffed at the iPhone—even forbade users to bring iPhones into work? Yeah, the iPad's going to give them a jolt too, says Mort Rosenthal, a tech sales vet who says the iPad will be a big hit, coming into enterprises through the front door and back door, much like the iPhone did.
"For the iPad, I am in favor of the game changing scenario," says Rosenthal, Chairman and CEO of Enterprise Mobile, a systems integration firm. (Rosenthal, a Computer Industry Hall of Fame inductee, is best known for founding Computer Software in 1982, which he grew to $1 billion in sales and merged with a division of R.R. Donnelly.)
[ Is the iPad a game changer? Here's five recent Apple (AAPL) successes that give the iPad an edge, reports CIO.com. ]
Today, Enterprise Mobile focuses on mobility platforms, such as RIM, iPhone, Windows Mobile, Android and webOS—and, of course, the iPad when it becomes available. While Rosenthal is bullish on the iPad in the enterprise, he's also aware of the strain the iPad will put on CIOs and IT managers, particularly in the areas of security, bandwidth and performance.
CIO.com talked with Rosenthal about the early adoption of the iPad in the enterprise.
Why do you think the iPad will make a splash in the enterprise?
Rosenthal: The iPhone has really changed the way we deal with technology, making it more accessible and intuitive. Enterprises are getting increasingly interested in the iPhone as a platform. Not only to support general mobility usages but also as a platform for line-of-business deployments.
The iPad feels to me like a similar game changer.
The form factor of the laptop is certainly appropriate for many functions, but it's potentially not the form factor for many applications including enterprise ones. There are many times when a larger form factor than a phone is appropriate. The iPad probably does have a place in the enterprise. Over time, you'll see a lot of them.
How fast will the adoption occur?
Rosenthal: The iPad will matter in the enterprise—and it will matter reasonably quickly. To a large degree, the iPad is already a known platform. Of course, even in the best scenario it will still take some time for an enterprise to adopt it just because of the appropriate conservatism when it comes to new technology.
But look at how much the iPhone has driven data uses in the mobile environment in such a short time. The iPad can drive data uses in mobile and at home.
