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The iPad dominated the headlines over the weekend, and the debate continues on whether it's a good fit for the enterprise. Some industry observers, including Mike Elgan predict the iPad will become an enterprise tool, whether or not enterprises are on board. Business travelers will likely be the first employees--authorized or not--to use it.
"Enterprise frequent fliers will be showing up for work Monday with iPads in hand, and that's when the trouble starts," Elgan writes in a post at Internet.com. Elgan says the tablet computer is perfect for business travelers because it is so lightweight and works great for creating and delivering presentations.
Elgan also maintains that using email on the iPad will be very appealing to corporate users. The multi-touch functionality of the device makes email easier to use. To save email contents--photos or text, etc.--you "tap and hold," which also allows you to copy contents, add contacts and other functions.
In a post on PCWorld, Tony Bradley offers a sampling of iPad apps that could benefit the business professional. According to Bradley, the tablet computer can do more or less what a notebook can do. Cisco's free Webex app will allow users to participate in meetings--including the audio portion--view documents and applications. With the Memeo Connect Reader app, users can store Google Docs on the iPad and access them even offline. The iWork apps provide productivity tools akin to Microsoft Office, including word processing, spreadsheets and slide presentations. Bradley notes that the number of business-related apps for the iPad are sure to multiply exponentially.
Much hesitation remains in the blogosphere, however. Gina Trapani at FastCompany is among those who are warning people not to buy into the iPad just yet. Trapani argues that it would be better to wait for Apple to work out the bugs, beef up the functionality and lower the price. "Only lemmings with no self-control and excessive disposable income buy first generation Apple products, especially in a new gadget category," Trapani writes.
For an extensive overview of the blogosphere's reaction to the iPad debut, take a look at Christian Zibreg's post at Geek.com.
For more:
- read Mike Elgan's post at Internet.com
- read Tony Bradley's post at PCWorld
- read Gina Trapani's post at FastCompany
- read Christian Zibreg's post at Geek.com
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CIOs remain largely skeptical about desktop virtualization, but the move to Windows 7 may drive greater interest in the technology. NetworkWorld's Jon Brodkin takes a look at the costs and technological challenges that continue to impede wide adoption of virtual desktops.
According to Chris Wolf, analyst with the Burton Group, there isn't much of an ROI case for virtual desktops in large, server-hosted deployment scenarios right now. Over three to five years, a company might break even, if it's lucky. The technology requires considerable changes in the IT infrastructure, and it presents the risk that users will be left stranded if there is a server or network failure.
Taking a more bullish stance, long-time desktop virtualization proponent Andy Moon, in a post on TechRepublic, outlines a host of growing advantages he sees in the technology:
- Organizations can use extremely scaled down client computers;
- Desktop performance stands to improve because servers run the operating system; and
- It is easier to patch and upgrade virtual desktop computers than traditional desktops.
Moon does not deny the risk that a network or server failure can cause enterprises using virtual desktops, but he suggests that the benefits may be beginning to outweigh this concern. If an enterprise has a robust infrastructure and is looking at a Windows 7 upgrade, it might be time to consider desktop virtualization, he writes.
For more:
- read Jon Brodkin's article at NetworkWorld
- read Andy Moon's post at TechRepublic
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Through a quantitative examination of its massive volumes of data, Best Buy discovered that 43 percent of its sales were made to just 7 percent of its customers. With that knowledge, the retailer had a good idea how to redesign its stores to provide greater appeal for its main buyers.
Using a similar data examination process, Olive Garden uncovered inefficiencies in its staffing and food preparation processes. With hard numbers in hand, the restaurant chain learned how to waste less food and schedule staff more effectively.
These two nationwide chains use the process of predictive analytics, which, according to Accenture, more businesses are leveraging to draw value out of the data they collect. By subjecting their data to rigorous quantitative research and systematic reasoning, companies are finding better ways to price products, hire employees and manage inventory.
Calling predictive analytics a game changer, Accenture's Dave Rich and Jeanne G. Harris say that companies increasingly seek ways to become more analytical. Technology obviously plays an important role in eking predictive value out of data, but it doesn't succeed on its own, they caution. IT needs help from the other business units to make analytics an ingrained part of the company.
For more:
- read Rich and Harris' column at Forbes
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Two of the enterprise software sector's largest players, Oracle and SAP, have become more like services companies than software vendors, writes InformationWeek's Bob Evans. Less than a third of Oracle's reported revenue in the past four quarters was from selling new software, while about 70 percent of its revenue came from services. At SAP, about 24.4 percent of revenue in 2009 came from software, and the rest from services.
Evans writes that the revenue numbers suggest that massive enterprise software purchases are largely a thing of the past. He cautions that the changes that Oracle and SAP have undergone will have an impact on their relationships with CIOs. Evans offers several ways that enterprise customers might find opportunities in the transformations at Oracle and SAP: There may be more chances to "co-create" products with the vendors, gain valuable insight from their massive databases, and learn best practices and other industry knowledge from them.
For more:
- see Bob Evan's article at InformationWeek
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Help desk systems can bring joy to enterprise IT users or they can be the bane of their existence. There is a huge range of features and capabilities among systems, and getting the best tools for any particular organization can take a lot of consideration. Jack Wallen at TechRepublic offers 10 factors to think about before selecting a help desk system.
Wallen recommends spending some time considering how difficult a system will be for employees to use. Some help desk tools are "insanely difficult," he writes, while others are quite user friendly. A system that is too complicated for your users may cause more problems for the organization than it solves.
For some organizations, a web-based ticketing system might be better than an email-based system. Email submissions may be easier for users, but a web portal can give an IT department a stronger sense of control over how and when help requests are sent. Email compatibility, ticket management capabilities and back up ease are also features that might help make a help desk system a good fit, Wallen advises.
For more:
- see Jack Wallen's post at TechRepublic
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The iPad debut eclipsed all other IT news over the past couple days. Apple's shiny new gadget made the covers of both Time and Newsweek, and the blogosphere exploded with rave reviews, a handful of shrugs, and everything in between. There are many who are convinced that this tablet computer will soon become a de facto enterprise tool, particularly for business travelers, and there are those who see trouble ahead for IT departments. 
