Employees may be ratcheting up requests for tablet computers, but at many corporations, PCs and laptops remain the favored device for those making the deployment decisions. Computerworld's Mary K. Pratt takes a look at why companies continue to find the laptop a better value than the tablet.

Cummins Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of engines and related technologies in Columbus, Ind., sets up desktop PCs for the majority of its 40,000 employees, and it gives laptops to workers on the road. To date, the director of computing services, Bruce Smith, has denied requests for tablets because he doesn't see them bringing greater value or efficiency to the organization. 

"We need to make sure we have a good, solid business case before we start providing tablets. It has to be more than the cool factor," says Smith. "You have to ask, 'Why is it a business enabler?' Those are the questions we throw back at the business when they ask if we're going to provide them."

At data integration firm Informatica Corp., approximately 90 percent of the computers used by employees are laptops, and the other 10 percent are high-end desktops for use by engineers. CIO Tony Young doesn't foresee those numbers changing anytime soon. Even sales reps at the company need more functionality than a tablet provides. If employees ask for a tablet, Young asks them whether it would facilitate greater sales, and they answer no. 

In addition to the difficulty in developing a business case, enterprises are grappling with how to secure company data on tablets. Apart from BlackBerry products, tablets aren't known for enterprise-class security applications and support, Pratt notes. What's more, a wide range of workers still need the full-size screens, keyboards and broad functionality of laptops.

For more:
- see Mary K. Pratt's article at Computerworld

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