Microsoft Points Out iPad's Enterprise Weaknesses
So the iPad isn't perfect for businesses. We all knew that, right?
Apple's got the lead on the tablet market right now, mostly thanks to the company's being first to market with one that's finally been able to attract consumers.
As we've seen from CES, there's going to be lots of tablets other than the iPad on the market this year. Microsoft will inevitably be supplying the software for some of the tablets, but it's still got a mountain of iPads to climb over.
Apple claims that 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies are piloting or deploying iPads, which must make Microsoft a little jealous. Microsoft released a presentation dated December 2010 to its partners a highlighting the weaknesses of it the iPad.
Microsoft points out that the iPad isn't exactly suited to the enterprise space – not that it was ever designed to be – in the slide below.
Read more from ZDNet.

It's fine for a lot of things businesses need, but the iPad wasn't meant to cater to "Everyones" needs because put simply no computing device can fulfil everybody's expectations.
From an IT manager's perpective (from a large corporation), Microsoft's arguments are relevant. Security seriously sucks on Apple devices and the only reason why there are not so much problems with them is that pirates are not that interested in it.
On the other hand, Windows based tablets always failed to impress me on the functionalities and user friendliness. They are also so slow and consume so much power that we can safely say that they barely function, while iPads run smooth.
I imagine that some software suites for locking features of the iPad (other than what Apple is locking ;-) ), establishing VPN connections,... will do the job for most enterprises.
We are not in a situation where every employee should have an iPad, but there already some specialized iPad applications available for some very specific tasks (inventory of assets in large building, interviews,...) and for those tasks, they work very well.
To me, Apple only misses three things to win more of those large accounts:
- Offering them better ways to install their applications (let the enterprises put apps on the devices without this ##"!! iStore.
- Offer more rugged versions of the iPad (because the current one will never work in some environments).
- A screen that can be read outdoors.
edited by Mod to remove probably untrue slur
http://www.discrematech.com
Furthermore, as we have seen in CES'11, lets see what happens when win tablets.. or even droid tablets hit the mainstream.
Apple may have gotten the jump, but thats about all they are going to get (or the people who blindly buy apple without knowing why).
PS. Don't you hate when someone says, "Nuff said", and continue blabbing! LOL.
And where is the central management and security features beyond a free app?
You hit the nail on the head. Instead of attacking Apple every time they fall beyond, MS would be well served to bring in some fresh creative talent and push for more innovation. They have the means, they obviously have the desire, but do they have the brains to do it? Seems like MS is always trying to play catch-up, they need to get out there and do some real creative thinking and innovate.
Managers/secretaries/less-knowledgeable users = iPad is pretty, plays games and apps, and is OK to use due to these misunderstandings.
Also, is there any way that you can view SharePoint sites in their full form on iOS? If you try SharePoint 2010 sites for example, they will only be viewed in "mobile" view unless you go through a deep process to disable mobile sites.
Not trying to defend MSFT at all here, I just know that most businesses love SharePoint sites for a number of reasons, and require custom tools/apps on their blackberries, laptops and desktops also for good reasons. If Apple claims 80% of S&P 500 are piloting iPads, they must all be drastically changing their infrastructure to support it.
Excellent point - SharePoint is estimated at 130Million license base and counting. My company is in the starting phases of trialing Slate/Ipad devices and SharePoint support is a huge issue I need solved if we make any decision.