In our recent E.U. thought leadership briefing, we explore how the iPad is steadily becoming the platform of choice for STM document delivery and secure social media sharing in the corporate library and in global information centers. One of the conclusions we reached, based on our research was that the Apple iPad is increasingly becoming a business tool. In one of our earlier posts we discussed Apple’s domination of the tablet market. Apple’s success is a result of a confluence of well planned factors. Apple’s “eco-system” of software and hardware developers, apps, technology partnerships and their breath-taking cash reserves that allow them to buy entire factory runs of hardware components from multiple global suppliers are just two of the key elements of their success.

Aside from Apple’s marketing success, from the perspective of a global IT or information centre leader, the iPad is an ideal platform for accessing, consuming and sharing of rich e-content. According to Apple, 80% of Fortune Global 100 companies are piloting or researching the use of iPads for corporate use.

As we note in the briefing, “Mobile access and collaboration through the iPad facilitates the emerging “anywhere, anytime” global workforce model, allowing organisations to access and leverage internal expertise and knowledge across the enterprise.”

Mobile Library not only runs on the iPad but also incorporates secure social media tools to facilitate high value business collaboration. Collaboration across a global workforce is a well documented driver of business innovation and market leadership. Consumer-style secure, social media tools increase adoption and usage which has traditionally been a problem for general purpose collaboration systems.

For those interested in our recent E.U. thought leadership briefing, the key points we explore in the paper are summarized as follows:

• The emergence of social media and how information centres can leverage secure social sharing tools for enhanced collaboration and competitive advantage.

• The trend towards cloud computing and the efficiencies it creates in the acquisition, management and dissemination of scientific, technical and medical e-content.

• The portable mainframe: How mobile devices are re-shaping the traditional notions of the corporate workplace.

This complimentary thought leadership briefing can be downloaded by clicking here.