User's Manual

ENTERPRISE AND GOVERNMENT TABLET SOLUTIONS
WHITE PAPER
1
Vdcresearch.com |508.653.9000
Executive Summary
In today’s increasingly service driven economy, an organization’s greatest asset – and cost – is in its workforce and their time. Optimizing
this time is at the heart of an organization’s operational strategy. With an ever growing share of the workforce mobile – VDC estimates
that mobile workers, one billion large in 2013, is the fastest growing segment of the workforce – mobile solutions that connect these
workers to one another and with the customers they are supporting can substantially enhance their workflows. The value of these mobile
solutions is in their gift of time – both from a workforce productivity and multiplier perspective and also in their ability to provide workers
the time to drive more engaging customer interactions.
Central to the reality of today’s extended enterprise is the abundance of increasingly capable and functional mobile devices, the ubiquity
of wireless networks and access services and the growing crop of immersive mobile enterprise applications. Although the variety of
mobile form factors is only expanding and there is no single form factor that will meet every field worker’s needs, it is clear that the tablet
form factor and its elegant balance of portability and productivity is evolving into a highly capable and impactful field mobile solution.
Today’s tablets have addressed many mobile limitations while redefining the expectations of mobile computing: extreme portability,
instant on, application plurality, rich and intuitive interfaces and highly connected mobile devices.
Enterprise and government organizations are validating tablet solutions with over 80% of FORTUNE 500 organizations currently
deploying or testing tablets for their mobile workers. However, in today’s consumer influenced mobile IT landscape, what defines a strong
enterprise tablet? Moreover, how might enterprise needs vary by mobile worker function, especially when considering the unique
requirements among frontline mobile workers supporting mission and business critical applications such as field service? From exposure
to inclement environmental conditions, to specialized I/O requirements and strict security support, how are these needs being met?
Furthermore, which mobile OS is most suitable for enterprise mobile applications where reliability, application sustainability and security
are paramount? The fact is there is not a “one size fits all” tablet solution and decisions should focus on identifying the solution that
provides seamless time to value while balancing upfront costs with ongoing cost of ownership and support.
Tablets: Evolving the PC Form Factor
Although announcing the demise of the ‘traditional’ PC is clearly premature, change is afoot with the limelight focused squarely on the
tablet. While initially perceived primarily as ‘content consumption’ devices, tablet use cases are extending well beyond early expectations.
This is especially evident for field workers across a variety of industries as diverse as utilities and energy, manufacturing, retail services
and healthcare. While tablets are not new to the enterprise and have been used successfully across various workflows, early solutions
had several shortcomings that limited their broader appeal.
However, today’s tablets have redefined this powerful form factor. Leveraging the more intuitive multi-touch interfaces made popular with
today’s smartphones and the continuously improving processing architectures, the tablet form factor has evolved substantially and
continues to do so. With significant R&D investment directed towards this form factor, the use cases for these solutions are expanding.
Over the next three years, we are expected to experience an explosion in tablet adoption, with shipments reaching almost 400 million
tablets by 2016. Of those tablets, approximately 39% is either going to be directly issued by enterprise organizations or supported through
a BYOD program.