Apple's iPad finds enterprise adoption at Wells Fargo, SAP

Posted:
in iPad edited January 2014
A number of companies have turned to Apple's iPad for their business needs, with the hardware used by employees in giving presentations, accessing work e-mail, approving shipping orders, and a variety of other tasks.



Wells Fargo initially bought 15 iPads, and used two of them in May to demonstrate products at an investor conference, the company told Businessweek. Wells Fargo spent two years looking at the iPhone, but approved the iPad in just two weeks after it was released in April.



Now, the bank plans to buy more -- when they're available. Megan Minich, senior vice-president with the San Francisco, Calif., company, reportedly said they have "a bunch" ordered that they have not yet received.



And Amy Johnson, vice president with Wells Fargo for the company's online portal and mobile strategy, said she envisions finance officials or account representatives using devices like the iPad to approve multimillion-dollar wire transfers. The company found that finance executives of large companies had used the iPad to access corporate Wells Fargo accounts.



Author Rachael King also noted that SAP, Tellabs, and Mercedes-Benz have all embraced the iPad.



Use of the iPad by Mercedes-Benz to sell cars was detailed in May. The Daimler-owned brand equipped 40 dealerships with Apple's device in an effort to more effectively sell and lease cars, using the hardware to handle credit applications. Now, the company is considering using iPads at all of its 350 U.S. dealerships.



Rob Enslin, president of SAP North America, told Businessweek that when he travels, he only carries an iPad and a BlackBerry. He said Apple's new hardware has almost allowed him to "run a paperless office." SAP developed an application that lets managers approve shipping of customer orders, and has a handful of other apps planned.



King also penned a second story in which she spoke with Tim Markley, president of Markley Enterprise, a 75-person Indiana firm that designs marketing displays for stores and trade shows. Markley's company uses three iPads to replace paperwork and also serve as a portable computing device. They found that the use of the iPad cut down on 30 percent of employee's walking time, making them more efficient.



Another company, Arhaus Furniture, expects to save $100,000 in annual paper costs when it issues 50 iPads to its delivery drivers. The company will rely on a custom iPad application that is being developed.



But Markley didn't want to pay to have his own application developed, so he searched the App Store and found one created by a Japanese developer for $1.99.



Apple made it clear it sees the iPad as a potential business tool when it released its Office-compatible iWork productivity suite for the multitouch device. But that was only the beginning for Apple's enterprise push. It is expected that future software updates will allow direct network printing from IPad apps, as well as support for accessing shared files from a local file server.



Users, too, have seen the iPad as a device they can use for work. A survey conducted in March, before the iPad was released, found that more than half of prospective buyers planned to do as Enslin does, and use their iPad for work while traveling.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 34
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    First!



    Just a little thinking outside the box - and more iPads sold.



    Funny how no one was ever going to buy these - and they're still sold out months after their introduction. This is only the beginning.
  • Reply 2 of 34
    elmcitywebelmcityweb Posts: 109member
    It's good to see Apple getting a head start with inclusion of its tablet in business settings, as opposed to its impending competitors(cisco, HP, etc.).
  • Reply 3 of 34
    antkm1antkm1 Posts: 1,441member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    But that was only the beginning for Apple's enterprise push. It is expected that future software updates will allow direct network printing from IPad apps, as well as support for accessing shared files from a local file server.



    ...and when they update the iOS for this functionality, as well as modifying the "Notes" tool to allow sketching/doodling/handwriting recognition (either with your finger or a stylus). I will be first in line to buy one. YES YES YES, AutoDesk (amongst others) "has an App for that" but i want more integration of native tools. This device should be a digital notepad, IMO
  • Reply 4 of 34
    Just think it it allowed you to print from the darn thing...

    That's the main thing I miss.
  • Reply 5 of 34
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post


    First!



    Just a little thinking outside the box - and more iPads sold.



    Funny how no one was ever going to buy these - and they're still sold out months after their introduction. This is only the beginning.





    It's way past time for normal people to completely ignore what the so-called tech types predict. declare, and otherwise pontificate about. And that includes the "I'll buy one when it has XXX" posts in this very thread. They have been totally, completely, embarassingly, ignorantly WRONG about every single product release by Apple in the last 5 years. They have no clue about the market, no clue about what normal users want, and clearly no clue about what a company like Apple is all about. They don't have even a tiny bit of a clue when it comes to useability and customer satisifaction.



    It's time we start calling these people out on their crap. The tech/nerd wannabe emperors have no clothes. They live in their holier-than-thou fantasy world of technical specs and features. They lord it over on their family members and co-workers. They as ludicrous as the Saturday Night Live "your company computer guy" sketches of a few years ago.
  • Reply 6 of 34
    paulmjohnsonpaulmjohnson Posts: 1,380member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Proximityeffect View Post


    Just think it it allowed you to print from the darn thing...

    That's the main thing I miss.



    I agree, that's a pretty big omission. I hope Apple are working on a solution to this - it's pretty much the only thing on my iPad that I really could do with.
  • Reply 7 of 34
    gqbgqb Posts: 1,934member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Proximityeffect View Post


    Just think it it allowed you to print from the darn thing...

    That's the main thing I miss.



    Patience, Grasshopper. Patience.
  • Reply 8 of 34
    anonymouseanonymouse Posts: 6,857member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by lkrupp View Post


    It's way past time for normal people to completely ignore what the so-called tech types predict. declare, and otherwise pontificate about. And that includes the "I'll buy one when it has XXX" posts in this very thread. They have been totally, completely, embarassingly, ignorantly WRONG about every single product release by Apple in the last 5 years. They have no clue about the market, no clue about what normal users want, and clearly no clue about what a company like Apple is all about. They don't have even a tiny bit of a clue when it comes to useability and customer satisifaction.



    It's time we start calling these people out on their crap. The tech/nerd wannabe emperors have no clothes. They live in their holier-than-thou fantasy world of technical specs and features. They lord it over on their family members and co-workers. They as ludicrous as the Saturday Night Live "your company computer guy" sketches of a few years ago.



    Well, consider that most tech journalists aren't really expert in tech, or they'd be doing that instead. They also aren't top notch journalists, or they wouldn't be relegated to the tech pages. They can do ok when they are reporting straight facts -- except when they are simply regurgitating company press releases, which is often -- but when they start opining, all bets are off. Checklist specs and features are easy to focus on when you don't really understand what you are writing about, so it's no surprise that a lot of tech journalism is heavily concentrated on those.
  • Reply 9 of 34
    bartfatbartfat Posts: 434member
    Looks like the iPad will reach feature parity soon with the Mac. Then... well, let the best platform win
  • Reply 10 of 34
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    So Wells Fargo is dropping all their netbooks for iPads?





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by PaulMJohnson View Post


    I agree, that's a pretty big omission. I hope Apple are working on a solution to this - it's pretty much the only thing on my iPad that I really could do with.



    You can’t expect everything at once and for it be a competent device. If that were the case the decade head start everyone else’s tablet had would be the de facto standard. Didn’t Jobs say this will be coming to iOS or the iPad? I think it’s a powerful start. Maybe in v4.0.



    BTW, how will printing happen from the device? With an intermediary print server or will the iPad contain all the drivers for printing?
  • Reply 11 of 34
    justflybobjustflybob Posts: 1,337member
    Having been part of the folks that helped SeaFirst Bank establish their Mac setup a long, long time ago (with the horrific Macintosh Office network), I wonder if the younger folks here can even appreciate just what the iPad and iPhone represent to business at large?
  • Reply 12 of 34
    normmnormm Posts: 653member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Proximityeffect View Post


    Just think it it allowed you to print from the darn thing...

    That's the main thing I miss.



    There are currently several apps that allow this. I use Air Sharing, which advertises in the product description:



    Requires Mac OS X (10.5+) or Linux with Printer Sharing

    Prints most viewable formats

    No special desktop software required



    I've never had a problem printing anything that Air Sharing can open. It can directly get all attachments from your email, pictures from the Photo gallery, and it automatically opens some downloads from Safari.
  • Reply 13 of 34
    paulmjohnsonpaulmjohnson Posts: 1,380member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    You expect everything at once and be a competent device. If that were the case the decade head start everyone else?s tablet had would be the de facto standard.



    BTW, how will printing happen from the device? With an intermediary print server or will the iPad contain all the drivers for printing?



    I said no such thing. I said lack of printing was a big omission, which I think on a device which has an office suite it true.



    I never said I expect everything at once, I said I hoped they were working on it.



    You have to drop the thought that just because someone would like Apple products to be able to do something extra that they are anti-Apple or somehow stupid.



    And as for how it will happen, I've no idea, but if every other computer I have can find the printer that's plugged into my router, I think it would be good if the iPad could too.
  • Reply 14 of 34
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by PaulMJohnson View Post


    I said no such thing. I said lack of printing was a big omission, which I think on a device which has an office suite it true.



    I never said I expect everything at once, I said I hoped they were working on it.



    You have to drop the thought that just because someone would like Apple products to be able to do something extra that they are anti-Apple or somehow stupid.



    And as for how it will happen, I've no idea, but if every other computer I have can find the printer that's plugged into my router, I think it would be good if the iPad could too.



    Mea culpa, typing on the iPhone and not proofreading before sending has its pitfalls.
  • Reply 15 of 34
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    King also penned a second story in which she spoke with Tim Markley, president of Markley Enterprise, a 75-person Indiana firm that designs marketing displays for stores and trade shows. Markley's company uses three iPads to replace paperwork and also serve as a portable computing device. They found that the use of the iPad cut down on 30 percent of employee's walking time, making them more efficient.



    But Markley didn't want to pay to have his own application developed, so he searched the App Store and found one created by a Japanese developer for $1.99.







    I am curious what the app mentioned is.
  • Reply 16 of 34
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post


    First!



    Just a little thinking outside the box - and more iPads sold.



    Funny how no one was ever going to buy these - and they're still sold out months after their introduction. This is only the beginning.



    It is the new post-Mac platform. Not saying Mac is going to die out in the next 5 years, but the iPad platform will outsell Mac by about 5:1 over the next few years... my humble prediction.



    The iPad is pretty great, really. Limitations exist, but for so many non-Mac users to accept such limitations is really surprising and bodes well.
  • Reply 17 of 34
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post


    Not saying Mac is going to die out in the next 5 years, but the iPad platform will outsell Mac by about 5:1 over the next few years... my humble prediction.



    I predict the iPad will outsell the Mac in unit sales and total revenue for this last quarter that included all those new Mac notebooks.
  • Reply 18 of 34
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    I predict the iPad will outsell the Mac in unit sales and total revenue for this last quarter that included all those new Mac notebooks.



    What are the major markets for MBP? I think college students and technology professionals. In both of those fields the iPad would be totally inadequate. On the other hand there are millions of casual users, children, technophobes, sales people, soccer moms, etc. that the iPad is perfect for. So I don't think the cannibalization or MBP replacement factors into the equation at all.
  • Reply 19 of 34
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mstone View Post


    What are the major markets for MBP? I think college students and technology professionals. In both of those fields the iPad would be totally inadequate. On the other hand there are millions of casual users, children, technophobes, sales people, soccer moms, etc. that the iPad is perfect for. So I don't think the cannibalization or MBP replacement factors into the equation at all.



    I?ve theorized that the iPad and iPad0like devices could lead to a resurgence of desktop PCs and a slight slowing in notebook growth, but my comment wasn?t about cannibalization, it was about the profit centers for Apple. The iPhone quickly became the most profitable leg for Apple. I think the iPad will be 2nd most profitable leg for Apple. pushing the Mac to 3rd place, with iPod pulling up the rear for their HW categories.
  • Reply 20 of 34
    psych_guypsych_guy Posts: 486member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mstone View Post


    What are the major markets for MBP? I think college students and technology professionals. In both of those fields the iPad would be totally inadequate. On the other hand there are millions of casual users, children, technophobes, sales people, soccer moms, etc. that the iPad is perfect for. So I don't think the cannibalization or MBP replacement factors into the equation at all.



    If there were a FileMaker Pro client for the iPad, it would be my primary work tool. I have a client base I keep records on with FMP. Printing from that would be key also.



    For now my MBP meets my needs for work, but I have to say I love my iPad for keeping my calendar (via MobileMe), surfing the web and just having fun.



    Edited to ad: Bento doesn't count. I created the database from scratch. I need FMP.
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