Out of all the technology questions I get asked, this is hands down, the most common: “What device should I buy for business?” The choices can be overwhelming with dozens of tablets, ultrabooks and laptops being created – and often strongly marketed.
Right before I sat down to write this blog, I received this email from a business owner:
“I am in the market for a tablet and I am wondering what you think is a better purchase, an Apple iPad or the Microsoft Surface? I have an iPhone, but not a MAC. Which do you think is a better product, and will both sync up well with my phone and PC?”
I get at least a handful of emails like this a week and I have been asked twice in the last month to speak to a group on the topic.
I’ve found that many professionals, myself included, are tired of carrying multiple devices. Until last month, you would have found me carrying a phone, tablet and laptop because they all had different roles they filled for me. But now I carry only two (and it’s nice).
So, how do you pick? Here are a few questions to help you decide which device makes the most sense for business:
1. Where do you work most often?
The workforce has become increasingly mobile. More of our company’s employees are working outside of the office and literally on the road. The iPad’s built-in 3G and 4G technology makes it easy for individuals to stay connected and productive while traveling and not near a Wi-Fi connection. The new Microsoft Surface tablet does not allow users to connect it with a mobile data plan like the iPad does.
Users can download applications to make their phones a hotspot for another tablet or laptop, but that comes at an additional cost for iPhone users and can be quite expensive without an unlimited data plan on the phone. For workers who spend a lot of time working on the road, the iPad may be a better choice. But this is only the first of four questions to consider.
2. How do you use your device?
Consumerization has warped our buying practices as businesses. There has been a growing tendency for new information technology to emerge first in the consumer market and then spread into business. The iPad is a perfect example. Its leadership in the marketplace and personal appeal has propelled into many conference rooms, even if it does not completely lend itself to business use.
I see iPads as a window into the Internet. They make it easy to check and send emails, and perform common tasks on the Internet. The Microsoft Surface Pro, on the other hand, is designed for creation. Just this week I hooked it up to a monitor and developed an extensive PowerPoint presentation – with my laptop and Ultrabook within reach. That’s something I’d never do with my iPad. The Microsoft tablet also comes with a USB port.
3. What applications do you need?
For most business users, email and Microsoft Office applications are among the most commonly needed and used applications. All the devices make email easily accessible. The Surface and Ultrabooks run Windows 8 and are made for Microsoft products. There are Microsoft suites that allow users to run Word and other applications on an iPad, but it is more cumbersome and mostly intended for viewing and minor edits.
For most businesses, the needed applications extend beyond Microsoft Office. It’s best to create a list of all the needed applications and see how they stack up on a device. The Surface Pro, for an example, can run common accounting software, PhotoShop and Lync.
The iPad and Surface are not the only tablets available, but many of the others run strip down versions of an operating system and do not support common applications. They are designed even more so as windows into the Internet.
4. What will your company support?
It’s important to consider your network and company policies. Businesses are beginning to put parameters around which devices can be used on the network and which cannot. Make sure yours is compatible.
The day of the desktop is done and the laptop is not far behind. So, even for workers in an office, the choice, in my mind, boils down to an Ultrabook or a Surface Pro. They both boot up in 12 seconds or less, run Windows 8 and carry the same storage space for about the same price.
They both cost more than most devices on the market, even an iPad. A 128G Microsoft Surface Pro, released in February, costs about $1,200 when considering the needed accessories and adapters.
That may seem significant, but as a CIO, I see it as buying one device instead of two because the Surface Pro, although a tablet, can replace a laptop. That takes a load off the worker and the business. For a business, tablets are easier to support and the fewer the devices, the better.
It’s a game changer in my mind. I expect our workers to begin migrating to having the Surface Pro as their single device (besides a phone) this year. It makes sense even for workers at their desk with the ability and ease of connecting it to a monitor, Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. That’s the new desktop.
