Picture a textile exporter’s general manager at a trade fair, trying to show a potential buyer the current stock list and price catalogue. The laptop takes too long to boot, the connection drops, and the customer loses interest. This scene plays out repeatedly across Turkish SMEs with field sales teams. Apple’s iPad, launched in April 2010, carries real potential to change this picture — but realising that potential demands far more than simply purchasing the device.
The concept of a tablet computer is not new. Earlier Tablet PC attempts, however, stumbled over two persistent obstacles: battery life and ease of use. The iPad clears both hurdles. With close to eight hours of battery life and a touch interface that requires no technical background to operate, it becomes a tool a sales representative can pick up and use within minutes. For the corporate world, the real question is where, how, and at what cost this device can be woven into existing workflows.
The executive dashboard scenario is the fastest route to measurable value. If a company’s reporting system already offers a web-based interface, the iPad can reach it directly through a browser — no dedicated app required. Sales figures, stock levels, and accounts receivable ageing can sit in front of a manager before the morning meeting begins, without opening a desktop machine. One critical technical caveat deserves attention here: this access depends entirely on whether the existing web interface is compatible with the iPad’s browser. Dashboards built on Adobe Flash will not render, because the iPad does not support Flash. Testing compatibility with the IT team before committing to a purchase is not optional — it is the first step.
In the field sales scenario, the value proposition becomes more tangible. A building materials wholesaler’s field team can show an up-to-date price list and product catalogue on the iPad during a customer visit and complete the order form on the spot. This is where the data transfer question becomes central: how does the order information collected in the field reach the back-office system? If the company’s systems are not accessible over the internet, additional solutions are needed. Entering data manually or through file transfer after returning to the office limits efficiency to some degree, but it still represents a meaningful step beyond paper forms. In the presentation scenario, the iPad’s advantage is straightforward: carrying product videos, technical drawings, and reference project portfolios on a single device raises the perceived professionalism of a client meeting in a way that is hard to replicate with printed materials.
When calculating TCO, managers need to look beyond the device price. The iPad’s retail price in Turkey, combined with the accessories and applications required for corporate use, represents a significant investment line. Mobile data plans, corporate email and calendar integration, and any custom application development costs must all enter the calculation. For a five-person field team, the ROI of this investment depends on how many sales visits can be completed in less time and how far the order error rate falls. Quantifying these figures requires a pilot; making the rollout decision based on pilot data rather than intuition provides a far more defensible foundation.
Among the practical challenges, security stands out as the most critical. What happens if a device containing company data is lost or stolen? Remote wipe capability exists technically, but it requires the device to be connected to the internet to function. Corporate email integration is relatively straightforward for companies running Microsoft Exchange infrastructure, but SMEs using different systems will need additional configuration work. In Turkey, the number of service providers with genuine experience in corporate mobile device management is still limited at this point, making support availability a factor that should not be overlooked in the vendor selection process.
As an SME manager, your decision comes down to three questions. Does your field team need current data and catalogues during customer visits? Is your existing reporting system web-based and iPad-compatible? Can you allocate budget and time for a controlled pilot? If all three answers are yes, starting with a small number of devices and a defined use case will turn your sector’s specific scenario into concrete data. Building the full rollout decision on that data — rather than on the enthusiasm surrounding a new product launch — manages risk and gives the investment a clear rationale.
This article was originally written in Turkish by Gökhan MERCANOĞLU on January 18, 2010 and has been automatically translated into English and other languages using machine translation.