Make the iPad your complete mobile office

The most popular put down for the iPad seems to be something along the lines of “Yes, but what if you want to work on proper documents – create baffling spreadsheets or tweak that presentation you’re going to be give to the board tomorrow. What then? For that, you don’t need a lightweight, frothy gadget (it’s always a ‘gadget’ to the cynics where gadget = toy) like an iPad, you need a serious computer like a netbook running proper applications.

Let’s leave aside the question of whether a netbook counts as a proper computer, the fact is that for a typical hardworking road warrior or business executive, an iPad is a brilliant computing device that has the potential to do everything you need for every day office work, as well as all the sexy, cool stuff that only an iPad can deliver.

IT’S ALL ABOUT INFORMATION
I speak from experience: in addition to writing this blog, I am also working on projects for a multinational company and I find that the iPad is just perfect for those days when I want to be mobile, light and have all my work available. No one in my Fortune 1000 company says to me: oh, that file you sent, it wasn’t created on a proper computer, can you re-do it using a desktop PC? What’s important is the information, not the tool you use to create it. And the fact is that with my iPad, I feel more accessible, more flexible and always ready to do business. So here’s my recipe for the complete mobile office.

KEYBOARD
Although the iPad screen keyboard is perfectly usable, it’s not a replacement for a full scale desktop keyboard. The Apple Bluetooth keyboard is small and weighs next to nothing when you sling it in your bag. That makes it perfect for the mobile office. Of course, the iPad Keyboard dock would work equally well.

MOUSE
Easy. Your finger! But seriously, typing with a real keyboard and using your finger to slide, swipe and pinch soon becomes second nature.

DOCK STAND OR CASE
This is essential. You can prop your iPad up on a flat surface but without something secure, it’s going to be a pain to keep re-adjusting it. Plus you won’t look very cool if it hits the floor. I prefer to use the dock stand as it’s more convenient for charging (but with all that battery life, you probably won’t need to unless you’re on the move for a long time) and I already have my separate keyboard.

Now let’s move to the all important apps that make your mobile office work.

EMAIL
This one’s pretty easy. iPhone OS 3 supports a range of different email protocols, including Exchange and IMAP. That means you can connect securely and safely to your corporate email environment and keep your email in sync at all times.  iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad support the following versions of Microsoft Exchange: Exchange ActiveSync for Exchange Server (EAS) 2003 Service Pack 2 and Exchange ActiveSync for Exchange Server (EAS) 2007.  The Exchange policy to require device encryption (RequireDeviceEncryption) is supported on on iPad.

CALENDAR
For iCal users and Mobile Me subscribers, this is a breeze. For those who use Outlook in the corporate environment, the solution is to create a Google account and sync your Google Calendar with Outlook. Then you create an Exchange account on your iPad to sync with your Google Calendar – which, of course, is up-to-date with your office Outlook appointments. Note if you use Exchange to sync your calendar, you will only be able to link email via IMAP due to the one Exchange account per device restriction in iOS 3.

With support for the IMAP mail protocol, CalDAV calendaring, and LDAP directory services, iPad can integrate with just about any standards-based mail, calendar, and contacts environment. If your network environment is configured to require user authentication and SSL, iPad provides a highly secure approach to accessing corporate email, calendars, and contacts.

DROPBOX
There are lots of cloud sharing services on the web but I personally use Dropbox @dropbox - the Dropbox iPad app has a great interface, works like a charm and it comes with 2 GB free. It’s also easy to create shared folders so colleagues and contacts can access information in public folders. By placing all my important project files in my Dropbox on my main PC in the office, I can then access them from the iPad wherever I happen to be. And by using a secure, cloud based service, I also have complete peace of mind that there are backups in case my house burns down on the same day I lose my iPad. Dropbox supports file viewing in many major formats, including PDF and Office but to edit files, I prefer…..

DOCS2GO
Docs2Go allows you create and edit Word, Excel and Powerpoint files in your Dropbox and then save those changes directly…..which are then sync’d with the server version in the cloud giving you a complete mobile office capability. You can save these edited versions in the shared folder if you need to give other people access to your work or email the file to yourself and others if you need to distribute it more widely.  At the time of writing, there isn’t a native iPad version but the iPhone equivalent works just as well – and you can scale it up in size.

WEB-MEETINGS
You may not be able to use the corporate virtual room environment for work meetings, but if you are using a lot of external agencies and outside suppliers, they probably won’t be able to use it either. In which case, a third party app like Fuze Meeting @fuzemeeting is a great solution for creating real time virtual meeting rooms to share content and information.  Another, more expensive option, is GoToMeeting, which already has its own iPad client.

VPN
If your IT group is happy to share the VPN settings, you can easily surf from behind the security of a dedicated VPN connection.

iPad integrates with a broad range of commonly used VPN technologies through support for Cisco IPSec, L2TP, and PPTP.

Just go to the Network settings and put in the details you get from your network administrator. Personal VPNs are generally a good idea anyway if you are constantly on the move since you can make your data far more secure than logging into your coffee shop wireless LAN as a guest.  To keep the IT folks happy, Apple allows them to set device restrictions that determine which iPad features users can access. Typically, these involve network-enabled applications such as Safari, YouTube, or the iTunes Store, but restrictions can also control actions such as application installations.

SOCIAL NETWORKING
Multitasking from @makayama is a native iPad app that displays a browser, Facebook client and Twitter app all in one screen. If you do a lot of social networking and site sharing, this might be an app to consider. Of course, there are also a plethora of apps – TweetDeck @tweetdeck and IM+ are personal favourites – that keep you plugged into your social networking milieu.  it all depends on how much of a social animal you are!

SKYPE / FRING
Skype @skype for teleconference and Fring @fring for video conference. It’s not going to be as sophisticated as a full scale, office-based video conferencing suite but it will do the job just as effectively as a netbook or laptop which is what we’re measuring here.

WHAT IF I LOSE IT?

iPad supports remote wipe. If a device is lost or stolen, you can issue a remote wipe command that removes all data and deactivates the device. If the device is configured with an Exchange account, the administrator can initiate a remote wipe command using the Exchange Management Console (Exchange Server 2007) or the Exchange ActiveSync Mobile Administration Web tool (Exchange Server 2003 or 2007). Users of Exchange Server 2007 can also initiate remote wipe commands directly using Outlook Web Access.

If you would like to read a very detailed overview of how the iPad can be used securely in a corporate environment, there is a great Apple White Paper here that covers a lot of this information in more depth and technical detail.

So there you have it. Travel light but pack a punch when it comes to corporate IT needs and requirements. Work with the full convenience of a keyboard computer. Access, edit and share all your Microsoft Office documents anywhere. Respond to email and keep your calendar fully up-to-date. Host virtual meetings and videoconference. Setup a secure VPN. An iPad may not be a full fledged Mac or PC laptop or desktop, but as a practical device for everyday business computing, it easily stands up to comparison with a netbook. Break free!