How Small Businesses Are Using iPads

By Rieva Lesonsky

Are you using an iPad in your small business? If not, maybe it’s time to consider doing so. BusinessNewsDaily recently reported on how iPads are becoming a common tech tool for all kinds and sizes of companies. Here are some of the ways businesses large and small are using iPads:

• Replacing laptops —iPads haven’t replaced laptops yet, but for many business users, they’re more convenient than laptops in meetings or on the go.
• Replacing paper — So long, clipboard. One iPad app for construction managers, created by Vela Systems, allows users to carry an iPad instead of a tube with construction drawings. The iPad is also being used by safety inspectors inspecting buildings, doctors in the office and insurance brokers in the field.
• Accessing information — Businesspeople are using iPads to access customer records during meetings or sales calls.
  Customization — Retail employees or restaurant servers can customize orders for products or meals.
• Demonstration – Businesspeople are using iPads to show customers or prospects applications, websites, videos or presentations.

Convenience is the big factor in the little tablet’s business success. “The iPad has all-day battery life, instant on, and it’s always connected,” Ted Schadler, Forrester vice president and principal analyst, told Business News Daily. “So if you’re an executive trying to stay in touch because you’re never at your desk, it’s a great tool.”

Other tools that are making the iPad useful for businesspeople:

• There are an increasing number of iPad applications for Web conferencing, including Cisco WebEx and Citrix Go To Meeting.
• There are also a growing number of productivity tools, such as Microsoft Docs To Go and Quick Office, that can give workers mobile access to the same tools they’re used to on the desktop.
• Companies are using Skype and video connectivity tools to do demos in the field.

Because it’s smaller than a laptop but bigger than a smartphone, the iPad is proving to be a great device for anyone who’s literally on the move. For example, a construction or architecture company employees could use it in the field on a site to show clients models or video of a project or even videoconference with the office.

One risk with using iPads, Schadler notes, is that they’re tempting to thieves. If you or your employees are going to be using iPads for business, make sure your employees are trained on proper security and don’t leave the devices where they’re in a position to be stolen. Otherwise, you could end up with sensitive customer or employee information falling into the wrong hands.

Do you use iPads in your business or are you planning to begin doing so? What are you using them for?

Image by Flickr user yto (Creative Commons)

This entry was posted on Monday, July 18th, 2011 at 6:00 am and is filed under Small Business, small business, Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.


You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.