South African businesses looking to empower an increasingly mobile workforce are now weighing up the benefits and functionality of tablets versus laptops, and often end up with more questions than answers, says HP partner Aptronics.
Shiraaz Singh, solutions specialist at Aptronics, says he has seen significant growth in interest in tablet as an enterprise computing device. "Considering that tablets were seen as a 'cool toy' only a few years ago, the level of interest from the business sector has been somewhat surprising. With the notebook-tablet split having grown to around 70-30, this is an area we are monitoring closely," he says.
Singh says in light of the progress manufacturers such as HP are making in terms of the features and capabilities of tablets, he expects to see a 50-50 tablet-notebook split within the next few years. However, at this stage, there are still important differences between the two devices, which businesses should take into consideration when equipping their workforce with computing devices, he says.
"We find that many businesses are looking to acquire tablets and/or notebooks for their employees, but they are not clear on the pros, cons and use cases for each, and therefore, which devices to invest in."
Clearly, the role of the employee and what they need the device for, comes into play, Singh says. "The notebook remains preferable for the user of heavy enterprise applications, users who need an office environment in order to work, and those who require significant compute and storage power. The tablet may be preferable for the user who consumes content more than inputs it, and who needs 'always on' access to the office based applications such as e-mail and CRM systems." While significant changes have taken place to make notebooks more portable and tablets more advanced, notebooks still trump tablets in terms of processing power, memory and input functionality, says Singh. On the other hand, tablets typically out-perform notebooks in terms of battery life and power-up time, he points out. "Whereas you might expect a decent notebook to deliver seven or eight hours' battery life, the less power-hungry tablet might deliver 10 to 12 hours. And a big attraction of the tablet is that it's virtually instant on, compared with a minute or two's wait to power up a notebook from hibernate state." The current trend is devices such as the HP Hybrid. Aimed at executives on the go offering innovative, convertible devices thus affording flexibility and versatility of a tablet and the performance of a laptop.
"It is very much a 'horses for courses decision'," Singh says.
It is, however, important to note that there are differences in the management of the two classes of device. "If you're looking to equip your workforce with tablets, it is important to ensure that an effective mobile device management and security strategy and systems are in place before doing so. Notebooks are easily integrated into the business IT ecosystem. However, tablets typically raise questions around the operating systems, managing and securing a broad range of devices, and whether enterprise apps will perform as they should on the various devices."
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