According to a recent report by InformationWeek.com, Apple is riding high in profitability, stemming from iPhone and iPad2 sales. (Apple's record fiscal Q3 revenue reached $28.57 billion, with a net profit of $7.31 billion, or $7.79 per diluted share.)
After Apple got the tablet ball rolling, the wave of entrants from the smartphone crowd included Samsung, Motorola, HTC and RIM. Other new entrants include: Lenovo, HP, Dell, Toshiba, Sony, NEC and ASUS. Some are hinting Amazon will soon do the tablet dance.
Now while you may be obsessed with Angry Birds on your iPad, for the systems integrators, these tablets hold so much power and can put you in a nice position with your customers above the competition. So what can an iPad or similar tablet do for systems integrators? Quite a bit once you think about it.
You can use tablets for sales presentations and to show videos to your customers, or even YouTube postings. (Make sure it runs Adobe Flash ‘cause you will need it.)
Your technicians can use it on the job for system programming or to teach new customers how to use their systems, or operate their systems via the iPad or other remote connectivity device. It can be used as a project management tool to keep track of scheduling, equipment orders and more.
Speaking of remote connectivity, keep your eyes peeled for the August issue of SD&I magazine. (Our digital content is slated to be up on the site August 3. Here’s the direct link: http://sdi.epubxpress.com.) In August you will see our issue devoted to mobility and remote connectivity. Did you know, according to In-Stat, that mobile video consumption is slated to surpass 693 billion minutes by 2015?
If you are thinking about buying an iPad or a clone, don’t go crazy and buy too many; just like everything else the technology is rapidly changing. Perhaps you can share tablets among your employees, unless you are someone who can’t live without it.
How are you using tablets or other remote connectivity devices on the job? Send me an e-mail and let me know: [email protected]. Deborah L. O’Mara, editor, Security Dealer & Integrator magazine
