What Hopes for the iPad in the Enterprise?

Everything about the hot new iPad from Apple seemed geared toward the consumer segment, right? But could the device work its way into the enterprise?

A burgeoning ecosystem of software and support suggests that it might just follow its smaller cousin, the iPhone, into the business world.

But some view the iPad’s introduction to the enterprise, apps in tow, as a quicker process than the iPhone, which cleared away many of the barriers for enterprise adoption of similar devices, including the new tablet.

CIO Update weighs the odds of the iPad’s success in the enterprise.

It wasn’t until a year after Apple unveiled the iPhone in 2007 for consumers that it started talking seriously about promoting the device to businesses after it added software support for Microsoft Exchange as well as security features favored by IT.

Consumers are still Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) prime focus, but a growing ecosystem of software and support has evolved for the iPhone. The iPad seems to be following a similar pattern in terms of Apple’s early marketing emphasis on consumers. But business and enterprise support is coming much faster to support the device.

“Apple was looking for early adopters and we said ‘sure,'” said Joel Reed, senior vice president of product management for Sterling Commerce, an AT&T company.

Read the full story at CIO Update:


iPad for the Enterprise – Is There a Fit?