Since June, American Airlines had been testing the use of the iPad and iPad 2 on flights out of Los Angeles and has recently received FAA approval for implementing the use of both iPads on all its flights. The FAA has not authorized any of the other airlines for any testing nor for implementing the iPad on their flights. Probably a good thing as this is new territory for the aviation industry – just as much as the electronic avionics were when Garmin started making them in 1991. It was another 10 years before planes were sold with a complete array of electronic avionics.

Needless to say there will be certain functional and technical specifications that will have to be met with each iPad used by the airlines. Like, perhaps, a fully charged battery would be good – but that would limit the use of the Pad on continental flights as intercontinental can be 6, 7, 8 or more hours. Though Apple claims 10 hours for battery life, we know what will happen if a plan ends up on the tarmac for 3 or more hours. So there are many details to be considered.

The FAA did stipulate that the paper is not disappearing yet. The American Airline pilots can use the iPad but MUST have the usual paper with them. What about you? How do you feel about the iPad being used in the cockpit? Would you trust your life – and 300 others in the plane – to the iPad? Let us know!

No matter how fast anything changes there are some constants that must be taken into account. As cloud computing gets its name from the fact that everything you do seems to be available anywhere, then where is your data really located? How is it being stored? Who is responsible for its security? Laws are usually based upon entities and/or sovereignties and it creates boundaries in which the protection of the law is supposed to be applied. Given the nature of cloud computing then, a key question about cloud computing remains unresolved in the law books as well the courts. Questions as to which law applies to your organization’s data in the cloud are basically simple: The law as applied to where you are located? The law as applied to where your data is located? Or the law where the data subject is located? The answers, however, are not simple. Especially if you have cloud services in other countries, international consensus on this issue has not yet been tested.

As most contracts provide which laws under which any disputes could be resolved, and the location of the court where such disputes could be heard, it’s essential for a cloud-computing contract to identify the geographic region within which the data centers hosting your data, and potentially the headquarters of the cloud provider, may be located, and to address the cloud provider’s obligations to keep your data in those regions. Otherwise, the overlaps and potential conflicts between the possible governing laws could make legal and data access compliance impossible.

As risk management focuses on retaining some measure of control, your contract with the cloud provider should require the cloud provider to notify you regarding its receipt of any 3rd party request to access your data. Be sure to specify the time frame within which such notice should be provided. And make it paramount that in ALL cases notice should be given ahead of granting access to any of your organization’s data. Also, make your cloud provider to make an obligation to limit the disclosure of your data to the extent legally possible, and to cooperate with your efforts to appropriately manage the release of any data.

Most of this can be performed proactively by a due diligence investigations of the cloud provider’s standard practices and procedures. These will reveal that it has a policy in place that meets your data access requirements, and you should codify this in the contract, and include a copy of that policy as an attachment.

Credit is due to Thomas Trappler for sharing much of this information. Thomas is the director of software licensing at the University of California, Los Angeles, and a nationally recognized expert, consultant and published author in cloud computing risk mitigation via contract negotiation and vendor. He offers several guides to cloud computing contracts.

This situation has been helped by the wealth of apps available, many of which turn Apples shiny device into a wonderful business tool. This article explores five of the most essential iPad apps for use in an enterprise environment.

1. Keynote

Executives who want to deliver presentations without carrying cumbersome laptops will want to make sure they have Keynote installed on their iPads.

Mac users may well be familiar with Keynote already, as it forms part of the iWork office suite. Many believe Keynote can produce far more attractive presentations than Microsoft’s PowerPoint!

The iPad Keynote app is specifically designed for iOS and can be used to create and display presentations directly on the iPad. Alternatively, it can send them wirelessly to an HD display. Windows users needn’t fret, as the app is capable of playing PowerPoint presentations, as well as those created natively in Keynote, making this an invaluable app for any travelling executive.

2. PDF Reader Pro Edition

PDF files are usually in extensive use across enterprise environments, so business iPads need a comprehensive app to view and manage them.

PDF Reader Pro Edition has some unique features, such as the ability to work with protected PDFs and PDF forms. The app links to cloud services such as Dropbox and iDisk, and even allows users to send files to print wirelessly using AirPrint.

3. Splashtop Remote

Splashtop Remote is a killer app for mobile professionals, and one of the best of a selection of remote PC access tools available for the iPad. After a host application is installed on a remote PC or Mac, the app allows users to remote control the machine with their iPad. This works across a local network or via a 3G or Wi-Fi connection, provided the necessary firewall configuration is in place.

Splashtop offers some well thought out gesture-based controls for managing the remote PC and provides workers with the ability to get to their computer, along with its full contents, from anywhere.

4. iTap RDP

iTap RDP is another remote access tool, but this one concentrates on Microsoft’s Remote Desktop protocol. Anyone working on a network that features Windows Terminal Services functionality will want this app, which allows them to run a session directly on their corporate Windows server from anywhere, using just their iPad.

iTap RDP will also be of significant interest to IT professionals as RDP is often used to remotely manage Windows servers.

5. AirWatch

AirWatch is likely to require to the expertise and co-operation of the IT department in terms of configuration, but the trade-off is that it will allay their fears relating to the security of enterprise iPads.

AirWatch is an enterprise-grade deployment and encryption solution for Apple’s mobile devices that allows IT teams to lock down the devices and manage them remotely. If, for example, a 3G iPad is stolen or left in a cab, it can be wiped and locked remotely, preventing access to essential company data.

These are just five of the ever-increasing range of enterprise-ready iPad apps on the market today, every one of which provides a viable business case for one of these great devices!

But what business apps go that extra byte to deliver something different as well as with some form of leverage that promotes efficiencies, production and/or security not only for the employee for the business as well? We’ve already discussed SugarSync in one of our previous articles that has a lot of promise at many levels. What are some others?

After reviewing a couple of hundred apps, here is my list of 3 more free apps that promote efficiencies as well as keeping the momentum going for most businesses…

Yammer

Many companies and businesses are concerned about social networks – especially, Facebook. Why not move the social network from the internet to the INTRAnet? This not only provides the controlled environment many businesses prefer, but also increases the willingness of many to share (that otherwise wouldn’t in Facebook). Basically, amplifying the voice of collaboration on projects as well as community voices within the “village”. The price is even worth talking about – free!

EasySign

Nothing slows down the transition process of moving from talks to action than the need to complete the paperwork. And if the people are located anywhere but within the building you are in, then the progress is only as fast as the paperwork can get to the person and then returned to you, or your legal department. Enter EasySign – it will let you create the business process and data flow that the form needs to take, first signatures, second signatures, dates, initials, comments… Whatever form, whatever the data flow, whatever the business process…

RoboForm

This is actually a personal favorite – for both business and personal use. What it does is remember your passwords with a cloud account called RoboForm Everywhere. No matter what where you are at, which platform you are on, whether you are borrowing a computer from someone else or renting one in a LAN house or internet shop, your passwords are available to you and ONLY you. The RoboForm mission is to “create world class innovative software products designed to make computer use easier, faster, and more secure for individuals and enterprises around the world.” And everyone that has seen me use RoboForm, usually ends up getting it for themselves. Since your passwords are being remembered for you, you r passwords can be as complicated and long as you want – increasing your security to all your sites, applications and anything else. There is a note taking system as well – for remembering other thing that you want kept in a secure place…

What do you think? Let us know! What free apps that promote better efficiencies, security and/or production are your favorites?

Anyone with more than one computer has a lot to keep your files available and up-to-date. Miss one file, and you could be miles from it with no one to assist you. Add to this challenge, having computers on different platforms, things could become very messy, very quickly… and not good for your integrity.

SugarSync is a service that can cross both the Windows PC and the Mac platforms – with limited synchronization with most smartphones. All your computers will be updated immediately as well as your Web archive. If you have two, three, ten machines – all are updated immediately.

A by-product of this service is backups for the folders being synced can be ignored while you just grab afile from one of the other machines, should a failure or corruption occur. We still recommend you keep a backup of every machine — otherwise you are increasing your risks if you stop using SugarSync on one folder and decide to us it on another… But the aspect of not even losing a moment worth of work is very comforting.

Another great feature is the Outlook add-in. This had been an Achilles heel for SurgarSync but they have overcome this very well. Because your files are stored on the web, who needs to send file attachments? This will save a LOT of space on the Exchange as well as bandwidth. If you send an e-mail to 5 people, you will also see a count of how many people have downloaded the file(s). Need to create a new file to share with everyone? To keep anyone from inadvertently using the old file, you can disable the links you have sent. All this provides a good leverage for collaboration as well.

One last feature to note – what about the folders or files you have not setup to be synched with SugarSync? They have folder on your screen for just such a thing – just drag your file to their folder , and all computers that are synched with you receive the same file.

Currently SugarSync is available in English, Chinese, German, Japanese, and Spanish. You can find this service and a lot more information about SugarSync at www.sugarsync.com. If you are already a user of this service, please let us know what you think! Keep us informed!

The interesting things to note are the smartphones. Are they being replaced by the tablets? Can you make a phone call on a tablet? Can you place a tablet in your shirt pocket or take with you conveniently on a bike ride? Or jog? Or a walk or hike? Well, perhaps a hike…
Before we look at the use and sale of tablets, let’s take a 50,000 foot view of what is happening NOW with mobile phones(1)…

The global forecast looks like this according to Gartner and IDC:

• 2009 and 2010 smartphone sales results by Gartner shows a 72.1% increase
• In 2011 between 420 and 472 million smartphones will be sold
• In 2015 between 982 million and 1 Billion smartphones
• In 4 years, that is a DOUBLING of sales!

The U.S. forecast looks like this according to Gartner, IDC, Nielson and comScore:

• In 2011 approximately 67 million smartphones will be sold
• In 2012 approximately 95 million smartphones will be sold (that is more than a 40% increase in 1 year)

Smartphone manufacturers

The November 2011 data from IDC for worldwide smartphone sales put Samsung phones on top:

We all know – or most of us anyway – that tablets are a VERY hot item this year. There also seems to be a persuasion that the owners of smartphones will remain loyal to their brand for a tablet – sometimes the lesser of two evils, other times they are happy with their brand. And many wish lists contain more tablets than mobile phones and PC’s…

But why all the attention on Smartphones in a blog that is iPad centric? Let’s take a look at this report from Limelight Networks Research (2)…

Shopping on Tablets This Holiday Season Vs. Last Holiday Season

Respondents who use tablets reported their tablet use for holiday shopping activities as such, last year vs. this year:

• A bit here & there 39% : 40%
• Between 20-50% 19% : 31%
• More than 50% 16% : 18%
• Did not use their mobile device for shopping 11% : 26%

Other Tablet Holiday Shopping Behaviors

• 89% intend to research and/or purchase holiday gifts on their tablet this year, compared to 74% last year —an increase of 20%
• 49% intend to research and/or purchase holiday gifts on their tablet for between 20%-100% of their holiday gifts
• 11% reported that they are not planning to use their tablet to shop for holiday gifts this year —a decrease of 58% compared to last year

Survey Respondents

The survey examined the holiday shopping behaviors of those who have previously used an Internet-connected smartphone or tablet to research and/or purchase products. Of approximately 500 respondents who completed the survey:

• 83% have researched and purchased a product on a shopping site using their Internet-connected mobile device
• 17% of respondents have simply researched products on a shopping site using their Internet-connected mobile device
• 96% own a smartphone
• 27% own a tablet

The interesting thing to know is that almost 25% of tablet owners also had a smartphone…

So? Well, let’s look at the tablet industry. Mind you, the economy has not been very kind to businesses at all levels. Gartner, one of the leading research companies, started 2011 with a 15.9% growth for 2011 for tablets in January (406.6 million units sold), only to cut that to 9.8% three months ago and now is readjusting its forecast again to 3.8% (352 million units sold) (3). As the economy weakens so will sales – which also means as soon as the economy turns around, even if slowly, then tablets will increase their sales as well. But look at the NUMBER of units being sold – 420 to 472 million for smartphones vs. 352 million for tablets. Both have been experiencing tremendous growth and there are still a lot of unknowns to consider.

(1) Sources for analytics…

• Gartner’s estimate of worldwide sales of smartphones, forecast for 2012, and 2009 to 2010 sales results
  http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1848514
  http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1550814
  http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1543014
• IDC is forecast of total smartphone global sales 2011 to 2015 and their Q311 forecast
  http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS22871611
  http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS23123911
• Nielsen reports of smartphones for 2011
• comScore estimates for U.S., France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and UK
• IMS Research 2011 to 2016 expectations
• A Pew Internet Project survey results
• Morgan Stanley Research estimates sales of smartphones for 2012

(2) Limelight Networks Research
(3) Gartner slashes 2011 PC sales forecast again as consumers stay wary
all images courtesy thehrisworld.com; pie chart courtesy IDC

So, what is Cloud Computing?  And why is computing heading to the cloud?

A brief explanation would only leave us with more doubt even an hour from now.  To give us a perspective that can give us something to relate to, let’s step back a bit –  and review a very brief, high level history of computers.  This may help us understand what the cloud is, how we got here, and then put everything into perspective.

The basic Desktop PC started with 3 components – the monitor, the CPU, and the keyboard.  The mouse was yet to be invented and navigation was only possible using the keyboard.  Programs had “hot keys” that would make this process possible.  If you were fortunate, you had a dot-matrix printer as well.   All your software had to be on your machine.  All your data files had to be on your machine.  If you had a file to share with someone, you had to copy it to a floppy disk, called a floppy.  Once you figured out how to get a copy of your file on the floppy,  you had to hand carry it to that  someone else .  E-mails, file transfers, interconnectivity were still in the labs or drawing boards.  If that person did not have the correct software, sometimes even the correct version of that software, then the software  or updates had to be installed…  By hand, using another floppy.  Though the computers were helping businesses organize their work, the work flow process by computers was also creating a lot of starts and stops.

Once the internet was publically availabile, connecting computers together became possible both in and outside the office.  Basically, forming a network that, on a flow chart, would look like a spider web, giving its current name.  Didn’t matter what type of a computer you had just as long as they could configure it to connect to this web.  Many businesses were also learning to do the same thing within their own buildings (the intranet).  OK, now the computers are now talking to each other, what’s next??  Well, the software still had be installed on each machine separately but you no longer had to walk anywhere to deliver your file as e-mail and the mouse had arrived.  Basically the infrastructure had not changed but the way information moved had.

Like everything that is usually the core of the business, the price of developing software was always expensive.  With all this interconnectivity, it was only a matter of time before someone thought of having one computer be the gatekeeper of the applications, and allow several computers tap into the software.  The idea was to keep the data either on your computer or on another computer someplace else like a server, while the applications were either on your machine or on another server.   The idea of having it on another server gained momentum to the point some entrepreneurs started offering software packages to businesses. There was no need to keep up to date with patches and upgrades as this was done for you. Thus began Software as a Service (SaaS)…

Soon everyone was able to have their data stored in one computer, their applications come through an internet connection.  The users could connect to the outside world as well.  Computer terminology was taking on a whole new meaning as well: boot, reboot, mouse, windows, crashing, hard drive, software, ROM, RAM, floppy, stick, modem, byte, kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte, tetra byte, LAN, WAN, cursor, refresh, web, buddy list, browser, escape…  they all had a singular meaning before the computer and some were entirely new.

The next step occurred at many levels as the software and hardware technology had finally caught up with one another.  This meant portable computers, which were the size of rather large sewing machine, could actually be carried under an arm.  The cellular phone suddenly shrank in size from the size of brick to a size that could be held in a pocket.  At the same time, SaaS was taking over everywhere and every business was moving towards all of this if not already in it.

What was next? With the internet, someone thought, why can’t all computing needs be on the internet?  Why do we need applications and data files on the machines in the first place?  If someone is in Brazil, Italy, or Indonesia and they want to access their work from there, why not?  All they would need is an internet connection, wireless or wired.

This is the cloud! Your applications, your platform, your infrastructure are now stored on servers by companies offering such services. There’s no need for patches and upgrades, and all maintenance, storage, and overhead is maintained by them.  They also do not need one application for each customer but only one.  Similar to a large office building, each room customized to the needs of each business.

Now, with computers the size of phones (the smartphone), and the demand for PC’s is now shifting towards laptops, notebooks, and tablets… all you need is an app to get started.  As you really do not see anything (like electricity) until you want it or need it, it is considered to be in the clouds.   With the overhead lowered, maintenance costs none existent and the only expense being the hardware needed to compute, the days of a PC look like they could be numbered.  The laptop and notebook are definitely a must as they provide mobility.  The smart phone provides mobility.  The tables provide mobility.  The cloud is all about mobility.

So what are your thoughts?  Are you concerned about security? Do you need to know more about the cloud?  What would you like to know?  What can you add with your comments? What concerns do you have?  Let us know.

Putting aside the cynicism that may leave you unconvinced that all of your colleagues asking the question truly know what it means, you must concede that they have a point. Recent advances in cloud services mean that for many small businesses, an infrastructure based around keeping data stored on the Internet is a more logical fit than the traditional client/server model.

One of the services offered by a lot of IT companies is an IT audit. The company spends several hours examining the systems that are in place, and produce a report of the problems and shortcomings. The majority of the reports end up looking the same for 90% of the clients: backups are failing due to nobody checking the logs, data is being stored on Windows desktops and not where it should be, and the server is shoved in a dusty corner, waiting to exact its revenge by means of an imminent hard drive failure. The risks all of these clients are exposing themselves to are truly terrifying.

When disaster strikes, you will be straight on the phone to your IT consultant—usually just as he has sat down to a family meal or arrived on vacation. The urgency of your need for him to drop everything and swap out a failed server drive might not match his current priorities!

Cloud services offer an alternative, and generally work in such a way that the only thing that has to work is your company´s Internet connection. Arguably, this is still a single point of failure, but redundancy options can range from automatic failover connections, to strolling down the road and setting up in Starbucks for a few hours.

The traditional client/server setup is beginning to seem flawed. You may no longer expect your office desk to be the only place you can access your company email and corporate databases. You want email to pop up on your iPhone, and to be able to check stock levels from any Web browser. Traditional servers offer these features, but will always be restricted by available upload bandwidth. They can also be a ticking time bomb for a business if not properly maintained.

All companies are different. A design agency dealing with huge files would not be well advised to try storing all of their data within cloud-based storage. However, you should consider the particular advantages to your business of moving towards hosted services: they can achieve lower up-front costs, increased staff mobility and easier maintenance.

The consumer world is already living in the cloud—emails on Gmail, files in Dropbox and photos on Facebook. The sooner the business world catches up, the sooner a hard drive failure will lose its ability to ruin your day.

Google Translate won’t quite replace a real-life human translator, but it works well enough to give you a basic idea of what foreigners are saying about your company. Be sure to hire a translator for the important stuff, but this app can tell you what your international consumers are saying about your business. With a text feature and a voice recording option, Google Translate is handy enough to grab.

2. CareerBuilder App

This app isn’t exactly for businessmen, exactly, but everyone has to start somewhere. This application uses global positioning to search for job openings near you.

3. Local City Real Time Traffic Reports

Great for those of us with jobs that require a lot of travel, this handy app gives you real-time information about local traffic conditions. Spare a few seconds to check this app before you step into your taxi. It may just make the difference between being late to your meeting and making it on time.

4. Prosper

Prosper is the ideal app for small businesses. This program establishes an online community among investors and borrowers. You might find the perfect investor for your company by spending just a few minutes browsing through the profiles. Find the money you need to get your business rolling, or put your name out there so that small businesses can find you.

5. Harvest

What exactly did you all day? Harvest can help you figure it out by giving you a convenient way to track how you used your time. When the work day is over, you can look back and locate problematic projects that are too time consuming, or locate periods of work when you were particularly efficient.

6. Attendance Countdown

Ideal for those workaholics out there, Attendance Countdown tracks the amount of time spent on the job down the second. Just tap the application when you start work and tap it again when you stop work to get an accurate measure of your day. Never get short-changed for overtime again.

7. NetworthIQ

NetworthIQ is a fun, handy little app for businesses that are just starting out. The program tracks the net worth of your business, as well as your personal net worth. One of the most interesting features of the app is that it lets you compare the net worth of your business with other famous businesses. Is business booming or are you behind the curve? Download this app to find out.

8. ConceptShare

You’re familiar with wikis, right? They’re online webpages that can be modified by anybody with an account. ConceptShare works under the same principle, except that it also allows users to edit documents and images. With ConceptShare, you can have multiple people working a single project simultaneously, even though one worker is at lunch, another is in a cab, and the third is in the office.

9. Qoop

Grab Qoop if you’re looking to generate a bit of buzz about your business. Qoop serves as a simple tool that lets you stamp your company logo on a variety of objects, such as posters and calendars. Distribute your company creations to the public to help create some traffic to your website.

10. Meebo

You’ve got lots of associates, and none of them use the same instant messaging program. Luckily, Meebo removes the need for multiple IM accounts by linking each of your program accounts together. Talk to your business partner on Google Talk, your girlfriend on AIM, and a prospective buyer on MSN Messenger all at the same time.

Cloud technology is a new information management system that has emerged just recently. As such, most of us are thinking of it from a modern perspective. What other features can we include in cloud technology? How can we incorporate more elements of daily life into the cloud? What will the future hold for this technology?

While all of these questions are very forward-thinking, one unexpected way to answer the question will be to look in the past. That is to say, don’t try to imagine where cloud technology will be 100 years from now. Imagine what kind of impact cloud technology will have on us because it is 100 years old.

The Past

Look at it this way. Your grandparents experienced the photography revolution, so they took pictures and stored them in photo albums, which inevitably end up in somebody’s attic. Your parents experienced the digital revolution, so they took digital pictures and stored them on hard drives. You experienced the cloud revolution, so you take pictures and store them on a cloud.

Your grandparents’ and your parents’ photographs are all physically represented, meaning that there is an actual photo album or personal computer that stores all of these pictures. On the cloud, these pictures will be accessible from anywhere, meaning that they will also be accessible at any time.

The Future

Imagine opening up your cloud to your children, so that they can view all of the pictures you took and things that you experienced in your life. Your children move to different parts of the country, and then they have children, and so on, until you have half a dozen grandchildren spread across the world. Each of these grandchildren will be able to access your cloud data and add to it, thereby creating a continuous stream of digitally stored genealogical history.

It might be hard to see this impact because cloud technology hasn’t been around long enough, but it is inevitable. Our grandchildren will be able to see all the information that their parents stored, as well as everything that we stored in clouds.

How would you feel if I told you that there was a chest of old documents, pictures, and items that belonged to your great-great-grandparents, the ones who travelled across the Atlantic to settle in America in the 1800s? Would you be interested to see what’s in that chest? I know I would. But it’s more than that. Not only would you get to view the contents of the chest, but so would your distant cousins who are also descended from your ancestors.

In short, the future of cloud technology is that it opens up the past, a past that we are continuously creating for future generations as we store more and more of our experiences in clouds.