Next month, Apple will ship the latest versions of its popular iPad device. The iPad Air is the next generation of the standard-sized tablet and the iPad Mini is receiving an upgrade from last fall's inaugural version of the down-sized device. Both contain new features and increased functionality, and each will be hot commodities in the business technology space.
According to a recent report, Apple is growing rapidly in the mobile enterprise market, which means more companies are turning to the company's popular consumer products as business tools. The study, conducted by Good Technology, found that Apple is by far the most popular provider of mobile technology in the business space. In fact, iOS—the platform designed to run on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad—has greatly outpaced competitors such as Android and Windows Phone in this area.
"iOS dominates as platform of choice for enterprise app deployment, with 98 percent and 95 percent of total app activations in Q2 and Q3 respectively," the report said.
Given the hype around the new iPads, it's no stretch to believe they will be popular among business procurement specialists in the coming months. It also means companies will have to ensure their devices are protected.
This is particularly important as businesses become more inclined to use these tablets instead of desktop computers. Their mobility puts them at risk because they can be easily taken out of the office. Suppose you purchased iPad Airs for the company and deployed them to your employees. They use them to process tasks and manage sensitive data. Now imagine a worker takes their iPad home with them to get ahead of their work at night. The chances of them leaving their tablet behind in a public place or having it stolen might not be great depending on the community your office is located in, but the risk is there.
Businesses don't want to discourage this kind of behavior because it's usually a sign of hard work and determination, but the risks associated with taking the device outside of the office can't be ignored, particularly if your company indeed buys the new iPad Air, which will likely be a target for theft shortly after it launches. Having the right technology insurance can protect your organization should any incident take place with a business-owned iPad, whether it is lost, stolen or broken.