Enterprise Apps for Pad Platforms: Cool Technology, Hard Questions

Steve Weissman

Community Topic(s):

Keywords: ECM, e-forms, iPad, Information Management

By Steve Weissman, Senior Pragmatist and Master Prognosticator at Holly Group

March 31, 2011 - 10:37 AM

Current Rating:
(0 ratings)

A recent sit-down with a new eforms-on-a-pad application sparked a fascinating conversation that underscored just how important it is to look beyond the technical specs of a new technology and consider the business model behind it as well – especially when the platform is as captivating as the Apple iPad and its growing list of competitors are.

Without divulging any trade secrets, let’s just say that the software in question is intended to run natively on such a device and to function fully whether on- or offline. The utility of such an offering is unassailable – in-the-field polling, medical diagnostics, and sales order-taking are but three uses that come immediately to mind – but questions abound about how and whether to best embrace it. Here are a few to get the dialogue going:

  • Does the pad manufacturer have to approve/certify the application before it can be brought to market? If so, what does this mean for the availability of upgrades, maintenance, and support?
  • Does the application have to be bought through an app store or can it be obtained and installed directly from the vendor or a distribution partner?
  • Is the application ‘open’ enough to accommodate ready interoperability with your other information solutions?
  • In other words, how much like a typical computing tablet is the pad in terms of software care-and-feeding?

The introduction of pad technology into enterprise-oriented conversations is just one example of how consumer-bred technology is infiltrating into business organizations. This trend not only will continue, but will accelerate from this point forward. As it does, you want to be sure to look beyond how ‘cool’ it all is and ask the tough business model questions to determine whether and how it suits your needs.

Report

Rate Post

You need to log in to rate blog posts. Click here to login.

Add a Comment

You need to log in to post messages. Click here to login.

Comments

Daniel O'Leary

As a developer of enterprise apps for tablets, here is my take on it

Submitted by Daniel O'Leary March 31, 2011 - 12:20 PM

Yeah, I've seen the same demo from the same big box company, and was really disappointed. Who wants tablet lock in? NO ONE. Monthly contracts? Limited hardware? YUCK. This is like the "digital pen" all over again. Last I heard, the preferred model was a 3 year contract. To put this in perspective, 3 years ago touch screen tablets didn't exist!

We designed LincDoc Mobile to be everything the device you have in mind is not, for both document automation and electronic forms. People already have iPads, iPhones, Droids, and other tablets, and this is what they want to use. Having a single purpose tablet just totally defeats the entire purpose.

1. It depends on the app store. With Apple, updates can take anywhere from a few hours to days to get approved by Apple, and pushed through the app store. Android is easier. This is a headache and keeps developers up at night, and means you have to do a TON of testing before you release apps. This is a good thing, since if it doesn't work, you won't get it approved. I once had an app rejected over the shape of an icon, not joking. For the hardware vendor in your article, who knows.

2. It depends on the device. For our beta testing with LincDoc, we send the files directly to devices, no app store necessary. Once testing is complete, we push to the app store. The app store model is nice because it gives IT central control over the devices and apps. For our app, we went with FREE, and require a server activation to enable the mobile features. Much better than having to purchase a proprietary box right?

3. Is CMIS open enough? Web services? JDBC? XML? ODT? BRB, finding some more acronyms. We design with those as the core of our strategy. The hardware vendor you mentioned does not have a CMIS implementation.

4. The device you are thinking of Steve will fail, and fail horribly. As someone who spends virtually all of my time working with these apps on things like the iPad, I can tell you this is NOT what users want. This is a legacy vendor taking a "box" approach to tablets, and really it just doesn't make sense. Would love your take on it.

Send me a message Steve, I'll show you how we are solving this, I think you'll be much happier. dan@lincware.com .
Report
Was this helpful? Yes No
Reply
Steve Weissman

We're on different wavelength, methinks

Submitted by Steve Weissman March 31, 2011 - 12:56 PM

Hi Daniel; thanks for the comments! It appears, though, that we’re talking about two very different models. I can’t get into any specifics about what I saw, but it definitely wasn’t a demo from a big box company, it wasn’t a single-purpose tablet, and I don’t think it will fail horribly – quite the contrary, in fact, and not in the least because it is flexible enough to adapt to the series of “it depends” scenarios you describe.

The purpose of my post was to illuminate the depth of the behind-the-scenes questions raised by the possible use of a pad platform. And LincDoc Mobile is definitely in my briefing pipeline to continue my exploration! (Sometime after the week of the 11th perhaps?)
Report
Was this helpful? Yes No
Reply

This post and comment(s) reflect the personal perspectives of community members, and not necessarily those of their employers or of AIIM International

Blog email facebook linkedin Rss Twitter Youtube

Copyright © AIIM 2013 Privacy Policy