Expert: Startups should consider tablets in 2012

Any small company looking to get off the ground or expand in 2012 should at least the explore the possibility of deploying tablets for enterprise mobility. According to a recent report from ZDNet, the devices will be among the top essential technologies for such companies next year.

Contributor Heather Clancy said that technology is important to the success of small companies, and that tablets would be a key piece of ensuring short- and long-term growth for a new company.

"Suffice to say, I believe that solutions using Apple iPad devices and the various Android tablets will prove compelling in 2012," she wrote.

The other technologies she identified include business intelligence applications, video collaboration tools, social media marketing and the cloud for data storage and backup processes. However, tablets ranked at the top of Clancy's list.

She acknowledged that the traditional slate tablets that have been on the market for the past 10 years don't cut it for startups, but the modern media tablet is a different story. Companies of all kinds are taking to the devices because of their sleek form factors, touchscreens, ease of use and, perhaps most importantly, because they are fun to use.

And small companies are in a unique position to fully leverage tablets, because they don't have to go through all of the bureaucracy that can slow deployments at larger companies to a crawl.

"I am a firm believer that the real innovation in mobile computing solutions continues to be driven by small businesses, because they don’t have to wait for all sorts of 'approvals' to bring in new technologies," Clancy wrote.

However, it is important that startups and other small companies don't lose sight of key management initiatives when implementing tablets. For example, a wireless expense management solution could be extremely beneficial for a company looking to deploy the devices while on a budget.

Those types of mobility management tools track and record every dollar spent on a program, from the purchase of devices and the payments of wireless bills to the downloading of paid mobile applications. In doing so, the company will have full visibility to ensure that budgets are considered when tablets are in use.

The devices recently received an important vote of confidence when Dr. John Halamka, the CIO of the CareGroup Healthcare System, said he felt the devices could benefit the healthcare sector. But he did acknowledge that mobile device management is key to protect information and reduce distractions for physicians using tablets.