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Molding the iPad into a Business Tool

14.03.2010
The Apple iPad has been available for pre-order for more than 24 hours now. Initial demand seems promising, although not everyone has embraced the concept of dedicating $500 or more to be an early adopter of a device that nobody really has all the details on just yet.

Not to sound like a broken record, but the iPad is a consumer device. Actually, as far as I am concerned anything with an Apple logo is--by default--intended primarily for a consumer audience. Despite the passionate zeal of the Apple faithful, you won't see any Fortune 500 companies lining up to dump Windows-based PC's for Macs, or BlackBerry smartphones for iPhones any time soon.

That said, the iPad--and other Apple devices--can be more than as well. Most business professionals will need a little something more from the iPad than a music playing, e-book reading, Web surfing, movie watching tablet device.

The following is a selection of apps that business professionals can use to transform the media-consuming toy into a productive business tool:

• Salesforce Mobile. provides on-the-go access to Sales Cloud. Sales Cloud give business professionals the ability to log calls, respond to leads, access critical customer data, and view dashboard information from the iPad.

• FedEx Mobile Web App. Mobile and remote workers need a convenient way to schedule and track package shipments. The lets you create shipping labels, locate the nearest FedEx office, or monitor the progress of shipments in transit.