We recently rolled out two iPads to two of our Account supervisors at the architectural firm I work for. One of the guys lasted about a month before he asked for his laptop back. The other one, whom we’ll call "Larry", absolutely loved it. When we told Larry that we wanted to upgrade him from the iPad to the Microsoft Surface, he got sad. He ended up sweet-talking us out of the switch.
It was a slow process, rolling out a business-environment worthy iPad for Larry, but we eventually got him up and running perfectly. And during that process I got to do a lot of application testing... Like, a lot of application testing.
Pocket Cloud Pro - $14.99
This is by far the best remote desktop app there is on the market, hands down. It gives you all the same things that any other RDP app does (control+alt+delete, zoom, screen snapshot), but it gives you one simple yet often overlooked bonus. Pocket Cloud Pro gives you a mouse cursor. Cursor suddenly gives your iPad the ability to double click specifically small aspects of your Windows desktop, right click anywhere you want, and even scroll up/down inside windows. The inability to use a mouse cursor was by far the highest hurdle to jump when it came to iPads in the enterprise. Pocket Cloud Pro completely voided that issue. Plus, this application allows you to save a few connections, making it that much more user friendly.
What makes this so useful for us is the fact that we have a remote terminal server that our users can remote into from offsite, allowing Larry to log onto our network and work as if he was at his desk from anywhere in the world. This aspect makes the iPad (or any tablet device, for that matter) that much easier to use on an enterprise level.
Pages & Numbers - $9.99 (each)
These apps are Apple’s versions of Excel and Word. Great and almost necessary additions to an enterprise iPad. These applications allow you to open and manipulate Word and Excel documents on the fly. This is extremely handy for
Dropbox - Free
I don’t think I need to explain what Dropbox is, but the iOS app is a must when it comes to iPad enterprise use. This gives you full access to your entire Dropbox folder structure, with all your files available to look at via a simple, but useful, preview. Plus, if you have Pages or Numbers, you can open Word and Excel files, and manipulate them via your iPad on the go. Whether you use your iPad for work or not, download this app.
Adobe Reader - Free
As long as you’re willing to load your iPad’s available data space up, the Adobe Reader application gives you the chance easily store/access those often used .pdf files that would be otherwise buried in your email or at the bottom of a folder structure in Dropbox. Working for an architecture, Larry utilizes this for proposals and outside client drawings on-the-go. The fact that the price is a big goose egg helps out a bit, too.
AutoDesk 360 - Free
Sign yourself up for a free 360 Autodesk account, upload some drawings, and you’re now a mobile drawing board. Show off your Autodesk files on the go, but make sure you locally download them while you still have an internet connection. It may take a bit of time to download a .dwg file via a 3G network. This is a rather convenient application for an architect, especially one who is trying to sell his product away from his home base.
Evernote - Free (Premium - $45/year)
I swear by this app. Evernote has single-handedly helped me re-organize my work life. I have my daily to-do checklist (an actual checklist), a list of random notes containing tech things that I’ve discovered along the way, and my fiance’s grocery list all in one location accessible on my iPad, iPhone, Android tablet, web browser, Macbook Pro, iMac, and HP. Everyone of those devices have the app that auto-syncs all the information. I discovered this on accident in mid-2011, early enough that I got a discount on the Premium version, but even now the Premium will cost you around $45 a year. Either way, its free to give it a try and use the basic version. The Premium is only worth it if you plan on sharing any of you “notebooks”, which is extremely convenient at the business level. It doesn’t matter if you’re using an iPad or not, give this App a shot.
LiveScribe Sky Pen - $171
Larry spends around 6 hours a day in meetings, where he is constantly jotting notes down. We clued him into the LiveScribe Sky Pen, which isn’t just some ordinary pen. It can record audio while writing, remembering where in the note the audio was recorded. This allows users to then import a digital version of the note into their Evernote application, accessing the visual and audio aspects of said note from any of their devices or computers. The Pen may seem a bit expensive to you, but it needs to be looked at as a business computer accessory. The only future expense is the special notebooks you write in, which is $20 for a four pack that will last you quite a bit of time. This doesn’t help me any, as I don’t remember the last time I actually wrote a note, but in Larry’s case this is a time saver. Not to mention writing notes seems a bit more professional in meetings than tapping away on an iPad.
I promise to Update this posting whenever we find newer and more interesting ways to incorporate the iPad into the enterprise.
