Review: How will the iPad fare in the enterprise?

Third Party Apps

Many iPhone applications have been revamped to take advantage on the iPad's larger, high resolution display.

For busy people that need to store random information and notes, Evernote [see gallery] is a must. Apart from it's value at storing audio notes, it's cross platform so the information collected on the iPad can be accessed from any other computer or web browser.

The iPad can also be used as a remote control system. Using a VNC client it's possible to remotely control desktops and servers across a LAN. We tried out a couple of apps - one free and the other not. Mocha VNC Lite was OK although it did throw up a few error messages when connecting to high resolution displays. Our preferred option was the $25USD iTeleport. It was noticeably faster and was a more polished app.

For remote access over the Internet we liked LogMeIn Ignition [see gallery]. The software has been redesigned for the iPad within the same application package as the iPhone version. Nice. That means you only need to buy the application once. (ITeleport, by contrast, requires a separate purchase for each platform.)

Security

It's clear that the iPad is designed as personal device. There's no multi-user support - so like a mobile phone, once someone has your iPad, they can simply turn it on and have access to your e-mail and any other data on the device.

Users will need to take some precautions.

The iPad can be set with a Passcode Lock. This is a four-digit PIN code that's required every time the iPad is powered on. There's an optional setting, that we'd strongly recommend, that will erase the content of the iPad in the event of 10 unsuccessful passcode attempts.

Apple has extended their MobileMe service to include the 'Find My iPad' feature. Using your iPad's last known position, it will plot its position using Google Maps. We were very surprised that it found our iPad using the position of known WiFi hotspots. The 3G iPad, once released, will include a GPS receiver to be a little more granular.

"Find my iPad" allows you to send a message to the screen of the iPad, play a sound (even if the device is set to silent mode) and remotely wipe the device if it's fallen into the wrong hands.

Final Word

If you're running and IT department you need to be ready for the arrival of the iPad.

Connectivity is well covered but the four-digit passcode security might not be strong enough for most. VPN works well but Apple's implementation lacks PCF support, leading to a deployment nightmare. Productivity apps need some work and although most work tasks can be done on the iPad, the lack of printing support will bother some.

I'd encourage business users to look past the shiny shell and think about some of the challenges your IT department will face trying to adapt this consumer device to the enterprise.