The conventional wisdom regarding Apple’s new tablet computer, the iPad, is that it is a gorgeous toy, suited for mostly consumption of media such as movies, games and e-books; that it’s not ready for serious use as a business tool. That got me thinking and I needed to find out why every day I see people involved in real work carrying the device with them, and they brag about just how productive they can be on it. Although I’m not yet ready to declare the iPad as the ultimate replacement for notebooks and netbooks, I can see value in using the iPad, especially for small businesses that make use of a lot of Cloud based (online) tools in their daily operations. Here are some characteristics that I think merit a second look by entrepreneurs:
- The iPad makes it easy to visualize company information. It has a large, crystal-clear display, which is not obstructed by a keyboard. This makes it perfect for presentations, slide shows, and any time you need to impress your audience with a visual explanation of something. Fortunately, the iPad docks easily with any VGA adapter, allowing you to connect it to projectors or monitors, and the iPad app Keynote works at least as well as Powerpoint.
- The iPad is highly mobile, allowing you to easily take all of your business documents and information wherever you go. This means if you need to work on a spreadsheet while at lunch, the iPad makes that easy. Or you can easily check e-mails from your customers, clients and virtual assistants from the break room, Starbucks, the library, anywhere you have WiFi Internet connection (and if you have the 3G model, this could literally mean anywhere). Plus, if you’ve been taking my advice and working with virtual assistants in your business, most of the virtual “office spaces” and applications are accessible on the Web by the iPad; some of which have taken the liberty to build apps specifically for use on the iPad, awesome!
- The iPad is immediately usable. As soon as you turn on the iPad, it’s connected to the Internet and is ready to use. Perfect for those times when you need to check something on the Internet on the spur of the moment, or to jot down some quick notes.
So those are the three big characteristics of the iPad that make it helpful for the small business. Now let’s discuss specific ways that you can put these traits to work.
- I alluded to this already, but slide shows and presentations are a breeze and attractive on the iPad. Perfect for business meetings with a group of people or one person at a time.
- Much has been said about the iPad as an outstanding e-book reader. Already, there are hundreds of business-related books that you can read with it. Not to mention the fact that business-related documents can be converted to PDF document format and read on the iPad. No more trying to keep all of those docs in a messy file cabinet!
- One app called AudioNote not only lets you take notes in a meeting, but record the contributions of others with an audio recorder.
- An app called Remote Desktop is especially helpful for business owners who work with virtual assistants, since it’s likely that they will be using Windows computers. This allows them to share important files with your iPad.
- Office 2 HD and QuickOffice are both apps that allow you to read, edit and create Microsoft Word and Excel documents on the iPad. Again, it’s likely that your virtual assistants will be using Microsoft Office, so this works well with the files she’ll be sending you.
- One more point regarding virtual assistants and the Cloud-based office: Online whiteboards such as Dabbleboard were made for something like the iPad because with the touchscreen interface, you don’t have to rely on a keyboard to write and draw on the board during your virtual meetings; you can do it with your finger. That makes it as close to the finger-and-chalk real world use as anything ever created. A whiteboard plus the iPad makes an online meeting or brainstorm session with your virtual assistants not much different than in in-person meeting would be.
My final word on the iPad: At first glance, the iPad seems somewhat expensive—until you consider how much it can do for your Cloud-centric small business.
Questions for you:
- If you’ve already bought an iPad, please tell me what business uses you’ve found for it.
- And if you haven’t gotten an iPad, I’d like to know your reasons for holding off.
