Business Tablets Address Security, User Preferences

by Michelle Maisto

While Android is the leading smartphone OS, security concerns have made it a less popular tablet option among IT decision makers. Hector Llorens, platform manager for business tablets at Intel, said the company is “about choice” and has been focusing on making Android tablets more secure. “The future of business is Intel-based tablets,” he added. The Dell Venue 7 and 8 run Intel Atom processors and Android 4.2.

Members of the salesforce of investment firm Hartford Funds were recently given iPads. Discussing the deployment, Director of Sales and Marketing Technology Mark Mangano said he didn’t take away the old laptops, letting those who were reluctant to transition use the laptops when they felt they needed them. Those instances were kept track of, in case they pointed to holes in the tablet offering. He also deliberately didn’t choose the iPad Mini. “No one in the field is asking for less screen space.”

Intel’s Llorens said that two-in-one tablets can replace a desktop part of the time, though what’s an appropriate percentage of time is debatable. “If people need a tablet less than 50 percent of the time, a two-in-one can be a solution. If they need it more than 50 percent of the time, you have to make the decision to go tablet-only or support dual devices.” Microsoft now offers a fleet of flexible options.

Mark Magnacca, co-founder of the sales-geared tablet app Allego—making the point that preparation and coaching are more effective than “winging it”—said that New England Patriot Tom Brady spends 17 hours a week watching video. Allego offers salespeople video-based tools that help them “tell better stories, faster.” A best practice when dealing with video, Magnacca added, is that it has to “render as fast or better than YouTube, or you lose people.”

Southern Illinois University (SIU) wanted to make sure each of its students had the books they needed; the next natural step to ensuring they had the right tools was giving everyone a tablet. “We wanted to give students mobile apps that integrate into every part of their campus life,” said SIU CIO and Assistant Provost R. David Crain, explaining the decision to provide tablets from Dell. “A lot of publishers used Flash technology, so [their content] wouldn’t work on an iPad.”

SIU worked with Dell to develop a platform and provide students with mobile access to everything from their class schedules to professors’ contact information, maps and the menus at the dining hall. The most popular app of all, though, shows the availability of washers in the laundry rooms. Ulrich von Beck, CEO of software firm Orchard, said that the decision to choose the Windows environment has the organization in mind. “For the user, though, it may not be the best experience.”

Steven Beggs, senior manager of learning innovation at Home Depot Canada said he had just given store managers Lenovo tablets running Windows 8 when he decided to pilot a program giving store associates access to shared iPad Minis—basically because they’re cooler. “We chose it because we thought the associates would gravitate to [the iPads] and give us more traction,” said Beggs.

Beggs of Home Depot Canada was given nine weeks to offer proof that arming associates with shared iPads would positively affect sales. Without the time or money for a custom solution, a large part of what he gave workers was quick access to competitors’ pricing. He then rolled out 100 devices across 10 stores. The resulting numbers were “incredible,” he said, with bottom-line benefits on par with opening a whole new store. Beggs advised to shoot for a “massive impact,” and to offer solutions that get users where they want to be in “two clicks or 10 seconds.”

Among the products that Charon Technologies offers is Rampart custom tablets, which is based on the Android platform. Charon’s “secret sauce,” said Senior Director Scott Aken, is that it uses two processors to provide hardware-based security, instead of software-based. Separating the “crypto and network processors” means no amount of malware or brute force can enable a break-in.

Charon’s Aken discussed security alongside Jonathan Fischer with Bigtincan, a company that offers secure (containerized) access to the content users want, when they want it and on whatever device. When the pair were asked about common mistakes they see, Aken—speaking from his years of experience as an FBI investigator—advised, “Don’t even trust the IT admin.” (The illustration is part of the Charon solution.)