Some thoughts on using the iPad as an IT support tool

Like many have said, once it gets ARD (Apple Remote Desktop) and OS X admin tools, it will not be a viable tool for real Mac Consultants who deal w/ lots of mac clients and mac servers. Java would be great to support Webnative which a lot of macintosh only advertising agencies use.

I do, hope that the VPN client is carried across from the iPhone. That, alone, was the only way to get iPhones as company issued phones in many of the circles I run.

no ssh support, no usb or firewire ports for connecting to storage devices that need to be analyzed... I don't see this being all that great for a toolkit.

I thought the same. I own an iPhone 3GS and have used the remote desktop tools along to support my Windows Servers, and as the post author mentioned, real estate is an issue. iPad will (could) be a fantastic tool for this!

This is wishful thinking, but an ideal iPad accessory for me would be 30 pin connector to Ethernet.... to enable me to configure routers out of the box ;)

Oh how i'd love the MMC to run on the iPad.. with my HyperV management tools. *dream*

Peace and love to all users of computers! PC / Mac and all others... we're ALL geeks

Steven, this is my first post on this site, but have been following TUAW for awhile. I am an IT Consultant in Dallas, I have been in the biz for 5 years. I have just recently migrated my biz machines to Macbook Pro's and am looking forward to utilizing the iPad as an assessment tool for new and existing clients. I am in the process of completing my first iPad app and should have something (hopefully) in time for the launch of the 3G iPad.

I think that this device, with help from a stylus (like the POGO Stylus) can offer a simple but complex device to answer an unlimited amount of questions and provide a platform to present useful data while designing systems for customers.

What I am most excited about, is yes there are many people that are saying that this is just a fancy eBook reader, or a web-surfer, or for the grandparents. But look at the people that are discussing this device, for the most part techies. This device will be in our hands, it can be displayed as a transitional device between our laptops and phones. It's ability to host cloud platforms (so long as it is written in Apples App lang) is limitless.

I know many are skeptical about this device, but look at the amount of useful information and discussion that has sprung up over night with this device.

It will be our industry (IT Folk) that will set the trend on how we can not only show our clients how this is useful. But that it IS IN FACT USEFUL.

I will keep TUAW posted with the developments of my applications.

I look forward to intellectual discussion on the future success of this device.

Good Day!
Nelson Elite

as an it tool, these would do it for me:
1. viewing pdfs (tech references, manuals, etc)
2. Remote Desktop support (VNC, RDP, LMI, etc)
3. iStat + iStat Server
4. Remote Event Viewer

Any of you Apple Consultants/Field Techs care to share your tools of the trade you use out on the field(both iPhone & MBP)?

Thanks

I agree i would like to see it in action in the field. Although I work mainly with the blind and visually impaired so I lug my MBPro around as I need to be able to double check things as well as have hamachix for remote access to my server for apps i may need such as JAWS or NVDA. Still definetley has a possible place but my MBPro will work better for me

If you are an apple technician, then yes, this plus a USB drive would probably be all you need. If you are a consultant in the sense that you are consulting people on what Apple solutions would be good for them, then the iPad will be fairly useless in my opinion. It does not afford you the ability to give clients a look at the services you are trying to sell them. For instance, a server. If you can not show them what it looks like using SA and WGM an the least, then how do you sell that server? In short, the iPad will be good for field techs, but not consulting.

I am a computer consultant. I often find myself in places where there's 3G, but no unlocked WiFi. My laptop is next to useless in those places, without an expensive ($130 + $60/mo) carrier plan. The iPad will work nicely for the following reasons:

1) 3G for $130 + $30/mo. Half the ongoing cost of other options.

2) Ability to both show an itemized invoice to a customer in the field, and have that customer use her credit card and signature to pay it (various iPhone apps) -- on the same device.

3) Usable PDF & iWork (Pages, Numbers, Keynote) docs from the web anywhere. On a device sized such that I can use it while hunkered behind/under a bunch of cables and servers in a too-small computer lab.

4) Books, etc. to play with on a plane, without worry that the battery will run out on my iPhone for phone calls.

5) Remote desktop manipulation in a size that's usable. If I'm out on a call, and another emergency call comes in, I can deal with it quickly without needing to bring out a full laptop and find an open WiFi signal.

6) Presentations to small groups of customers.

7) Better home life -- my wife's movie/TV preferences don't always match mine, so I sometimes leave the TV room to do stuff on the computer while she watches her show. With an iPad, I can stay next to her on the couch, and accomplish the same thing (with an earphone).

My wife is a hospital nurse. She keeps pieces of paper in her pockets, on which she writes quick notes about each patient throughout her shift. At the end of her shift, she transcribes those quick notes into more lengthy proper observations on the patient's official record book. Her response to the idea of using a netbook, or other type computer for taking those quick notes, is that the keyboard gets in the way, and using a pen/paper is quicker/easier. If the iPad can use a stylus and handwriting recognition, it would work great in such a setting. Without this, I don't think it'll work very well. Nurses and doctors are always running from one patient to the next, so speed and ease are of utmost priority for record-keeping. Verbal dictation apparently is not an option for privacy reasons (unauthorized people overhearing your notes about a patient's condition).

I think the iPad can go over well in schools, though. More schools are either requiring, or providing laptops to students, so they can do web research, take notes, etc. At $499, the iPad is at a good price point, and the size format avoids backpack muscle injuries, etc. There is a microphone in it, so recording a lecture (or in business, a meeting) is already a capability (there's an Apple App for this already).

I'm not an Apple consultant, but I am an IT professional with 20 years under my belt. My first thoughts when I saw this were along the lines of "wow! They finally delivered on what I've always wanted a PDA to be".

Smart phones, even the iPhone, just don't quite do it for me. I've been carrying a paper Day-Timer® organizer for years. When I saw the specs, I got out a ruler and, guess what.... the iPad has exactly the same footprint as my Day-Timer. When i put my paper planner on a scale, I realized that the iPad is also almost half a pound lighter than my paper planner!

The calendar and contacts apps look great, and the notes application looks very usable. That covers the core PDA functions right there. Add in a good browser and e-mail access and the availability of remote control apps that already exist for the iPhone and will surely be updated for the larger display of the iPad, the e-book reader, a few time killing games, audio and video playback, etc. and I've got the ultimate (for me) PDA for both business and leisure. Oh, and lets not forget the iWork apps.

I spend a large portion of my day going from desk to desk or in meetings. I usually leave my laptop at my desk and carry my planner with me. It seems this will cover 90% of what I'd use my laptop for if I carried it with me and 100% of what my planner does with less weight than even just the paper planner.

I'll be in line as soon as they become available. (I plan to get the 16GB WiFi only version. I don't foresee needing 3G access. If I'm on the road and need to connect, I'll stop at a coffee shop or a McDonald's where WiFi access is prevalent.

One more thought... I find it interesting that, shortly before this was introduced, Google added file storage to Google Apps... Now, regardless of how much local storage I have, I can potentially access all of the business critical documents I need while on the move.