UberMobile

Eric Lai
Home / News & Blogs / UberMobile

Top 50 iPad Rollouts by Enterprises & Schools (Updated May 22, 2012)

By Eric Lai | May 23, 2012, 7:15am PDT

Summary: To all the remaining skeptics: there’s one bit of evidence that to me pretty much proves that the iPad - and tablets - won’t be a one-hit wonder.

(List updated May 22 with: University of Minnesota College of Education and Human Development (1,268), Briarwood Christian School (1,200), Garden City High School (Kansas, 2,500). From April 25: San Diego Unified School District (25,000), Rowan-Salisbury School District (7,000), US Air Force Special Operations Command (2,725); From March 15, 2012 with: Air France (5,000), San Diego Unified School District (20,000), Encinitas School District (1,200), Cathedral Catholic HS (1,810), and Chicago Public Schools (10,000). From March 5: Cisco (8,144 iPads), US Air Force (up to 18,000 iPads) and IBM (10,000 iPads) Back in June 2011, the WSJ had a fascinating article about one-hit wonder products like the Baby on Board sign and, more recently, Silly Bandz. That got me thinking: have the past three months proven that the iPad is no one-hit wonder?

Why, yes, I do believe it has. There’s the many tens of millions of iPads sold in more than two years, the huge pent-up demand for the iPad 3 and Apple’s continued domination over the PlayBook, Xoom and Galaxy Tab.

In October 2011, Apple said that 92% of the Fortune 500 are deploying or testing iPads. Meanwhile, 2,300 school districts in the U.S. are using the iPad, including 600 that have 1:1 iPad:student programs.

However, consumers are fickle. Tastes change, fads fade. In one year, couldn’t the tablet market look completely different?

Sure it could. But it won’t, I think, for a very simple reason: apart from isolated examples like American Airlines buying 6,000 new Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1s, enterprises (and schools) are only deploying iPads widely today.

Why is this important? Enterprises plan their budgets and upgrade cycles years in advance (with hardware, that is typically 3-5 years).

The reason is because no IT deployment is as simple as the actual hardware/software purchase. There is training for IT staff and employees. There are the new regulations that must be complied with (and paperwork to be filed). There are budgets to managed and anticipated. There are applications that need to be built, rebuilt, purchased or upgraded.

In other words, any IT decision, no matter how seemingly quick and tactical, usually ends up getting rolled into a larger strategy with a many year impact.

My point is that none of the large organizations that are deploying iPads today are making that decision capriciously. As a result, they won’t dump them hastily. No, anyone who has deployed iPads to hundreds or thousands of employees and has started to use real enterprise apps is basically committed to expanding that usage for the medium term, and very likely the long-term.

Which brings me to the iPad deployment list that I co-maintain with Jim Siegl. The list just won’t stop growing, with about 500 organizations deploying 168,000 iPads.

(Note: this number is lower than Apple’s states above because it only includes deployments we have verified through public sources like news articles and press releases.)

At the top of the list, there is some movement. SAP is now up to 14,000 iPads, up from 3,500 in the spring. United Airlines plans to deploy 11,000 iPads, equipping all of its pilots. Teach For America has taken 9,000 refurbished iPads from Apple and handed them to its teachers.

Hyundai announced in August that it had given away 2,000 iPads to buyers of its 2011 Equus luxury sedan (but alas, is discontinuing the promotion for 2012 models).

Ottawa Hospital is now up to 2,300 iPads - not surprising considering the strong interest by healthcare, and Alaska Airlines, which plans to replace its bulky flight manuals with iPads and PDFs for its 1,400 pilots. And I was able to verify that Korea Telecom actually gave away iPads away in January to all 32,000 employees.

Other newbies to the list: the Singapore military announced in late June it plans to give iPad 2s to new recruits as standard issue (along with their rifles, apparently). Verizon is deploying 3,800 iPad 2s (only fitting, since it is a leading provider of hosted mobile device management software-as-a-service and, full disclosure, a Sybase partner). Walt Disney Co. is deploying about 2,000 iPads to employees and the Clark County School District for Las Vegas, Nevada is spending $1 million on 1,859 iPads for students.

Here is the Top 50, in all of its Google Spreadsheets-generated glory:

(Right-click on graphic to save it)

***************

Time for a quick commercial: Sybase, an SAP Company, has just released a new book, Mobility Manifesto: Transforming the Enterprise, for which I was the editor.

You can download it at www.MobilityManifesto.com. Expect a mix of snarky observations about the plight of mobility-starved workers, possibly like yourselves.

Mixed in also is helpful business strategy and actionable IT tactics. All with a minimum of shilling for Sybase and SAP products.

You could even send a copy of the book or e-book to your boss or CIO. It’s easier than Occupying his or her office, and may turn out to be just as effective.

More from “UberMobile”

Topics

Apple iPad, Software As A Service (SaaS), Managed Hosting, Travel, Cloud Computing, Strategy, Emerging Technologies, Management, Eric Lai, tablet, iPad 2, SAP, mobile device management, CIO, client computing, upgrade, SAP AG, Sybase

Eric Lai tracks the latest news and trends in enterprise mobility.

Biography

Eric Lai

Eric Lai tracks the latest news and trends in enterprise mobility. A veteran tech journalist most recently covering enterprise software for Computerworld, Eric joined Sybase, an SAP company in April 2010. Eric's views are his alone and do not necessarily represent those of SAP. This blog is sponsored by SAP.
18
Comments
Add Your Opinion

Join the conversation!

Just In

There are free/cheap apps galore on App Store
ericylai@... 1st May
I've been surprised at how many free/inexpensive apps there are. For an example, if you take ALL of the 30+ games on our family iPad and the $ we've spent on buying the apps and in-app purchases, it probably is less than the TWO cartridges I bought for my kids Nintendo 3DS. You should be able to skim the App Store list on the Web...
View in thread
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Top 50 iPad Rollouts by Enterprises & Schools
techguy2002 17th Jun
Medtronic thinks that by deploying thousands of ipads to their sales people and executives, they will sell more product to save their 5 year downward trend.
-1 Votes
+ -
RE: Top 50 iPad Rollouts by Enterprises & Schools
meimeili 23rd Sep
Thank you so much. chanel bags
chanel replica bags
fake chanel bags
0 Votes
+ -
iPad is the best
James Denton Updated - 18th Jun
To be honest, Apple iPad/iPad 2 makes the life less dull. Tastes change, fads fade, but iPad is always the tide and in the complete control the Tablet market.

http://www.avitoipad.net/ipad2-video-converter.html

As a powerful converter, iPad 2 Video Converter can easily convert kinds of videos to iPad for playing.
-1 Votes
+ -
RE: Top 50 iPad Rollouts by Enterprises & Schools
ayse1 2nd Sep
twitter
sex hikayeleri
yemek tarifleri
mynet
guzel sozler
face
facebook
pvp
metin2
metin2 pvp serverler
mt2

knight
metin2 ticaret hilesi
metin2 4x hilesi
metin2 2011 cekme hilesi

metin2 pvp serverlar
metin2
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Top 50 iPad Rollouts by Enterprises & Schools
Imrhien 11th Oct
How is the iPad ready for such enterprise usage? It's certainly fine for email, but I don't see how it'll be useful for much else. Not hating here, just genuinely curious. Particularly as these things aren't cheap!
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Top 50 iPad Rollouts by Enterprises & Schools
ericylai@... 12th Oct
@Imrhien It's a legit question, but in my mind, easy to answer. First, there are many productivity apps already out there. See
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2362574,00.asp

Second, using connectors like Citrix, you can tunnel securely back to your corporate network to access data and applications on their servers. Not my preferred technique, though, because of the sluggish performance of virtual desktops.

Third, there are lots of enterprise apps emerging, from my employer (SAP/Sybase) and others.

See some of my postings on this (and/or attend the associated webinars):
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/sybase/deep-dive-into-new-sap-mobile-apps-for-hcm-crm-erp-srm-grc/1704
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/sybase/how-two-sap-mobile-health-apps-can-improve-patient-care-mhealth/1484?tag=mantle_skin;content
-1 Votes
+ -
Free iPad Games
heandyln 16th Oct
Awesome application, a job well done I like ipad game software free download sites. Check: http://www.ipadgamesfree.net
-1 Votes
+ -
ktgwwtb 35 wyo
cdfwekrwe16-24379016625992025033484948604803 23rd Nov
kyanxf,isxrsgqm07, wbmhc.
1 Vote
+ -
RE: Top 50 iPad Rollouts by Enterprises & Schools
vijayasankarv@... 3rd Jan
It might be useful to get this metric as ipads to number of employees to see penetration.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Top 50 iPad Rollouts by Enterprises & Schools
ericylai@... 9th Jan
@vijayasankarv@... Agree...it's on my list of to-dos...
0 Votes
+ -
It has swiftly captured the market
cdnmobilesolutions 21st Mar
Agree. The tablet swiftly adopted by schools and is good to provide education.

We have also developed and launched the children learning app named "Flash Card Age 0-2" for which we are got good responses from parents.

http://www.cdnmobilesolutions.com/iphone-application/i21-flash-card-age-0-2.php
0 Votes
+ -
Trend of Time?
anupamaas3 9th Apr
Would you be able to share how this has increased/decreased over time?
0 Votes
+ -
iStartSmart Mobile Tablet Learning Solution
syeager@... 9th Apr
Hatch Early Learning's tablet solution for kids is incredibly easy to use and takes all the hassle and worry out of tablet integration in classrooms. All the content is research-based and aligns with learning standards. http://www.hatchearlychildhood.com/pages/early-learning-tablet-for-kids
0 Votes
+ -
Can one use iPad w/o purchasing Apple's S/W?
drmichael7777 27th Apr
It may sound as simple Q: I would like to purchase an iPad but I am not willing to be buying Apple's expensive s/w or services. Can I just buy the h/w and then find FREE applications to use to make this a usefull endeavour?

For instance I will be using the WiFi at my home (or elsewhere) and I do not want to enroll to any 4G or 3G connectivity. Are there free apps for say photo management, video, or other common home / office tasks ? Or do I need to lock in expensive Apple apps?

thanks ...
0 Votes
+ -
There are free/cheap apps galore on App Store
ericylai@... 1st May
I've been surprised at how many free/inexpensive apps there are. For an example, if you take ALL of the 30+ games on our family iPad and the $ we've spent on buying the apps and in-app purchases, it probably is less than the TWO cartridges I bought for my kids Nintendo 3DS. You should be able to skim the App Store list on the Web...
0 Votes
+ -
missing data
bluecauthen 29th Apr
There are other schools piloting as well - Belding Area Schools is piloting 1,300. Also wasn't NYC 10,000 that brought down their network just before Christmas and upset just about every school administrator there? Also, you're mentally calculating off of very low numbers a long term trend -- there are more than 50 MILLION kids. Quite a few of the biggest districts have said they will never purchase for full 1:1 deployment. Most are going BYOD. Also, most districts are only in pilot for a mere few thousand, and Chicago Public Schools CIO has said he will "pilot anything" right now, as well as Clark County who is also purchasing a slew of Galaxy Tabs at the same time as the iPads. You need to actually TALK to some people. Apple's model is most likely a flash-in-the-pan while the market awaits Win8.
0 Votes
+ -
Trying hard as I can!
ericylai@... 1st May
Hey, thanks for those leads! I definitely do want to talk to more companies/schools. You might have seen my bigger list - http://ipadpilots.k12cloudlearning.com/ which has 700 organizations or so on it.

You seem very plugged in. Would you be willing to share more info or leads? Please post here or contact me at ericyolai@gmail.com, thanks!

Join the conversation!

Formatting +
BB Codes - Note: HTML is not supported in forums
  • [b] Bold [/b]
  • [i] Italic [/i]
  • [u] Underline [/u]
  • [s] Strikethrough [/s]
  • [q] "Quote" [/q]
  • [ol][*] 1. Ordered List [/ol]
  • [ul][*] · Unordered List [/ul]
  • [pre] Preformat [/pre]
  • [quote] "Blockquote" [/quote]
Sybase

Blogger Biography

Eric Lai tracks the latest news and trends in enterprise mobility. A veteran tech journalist most recently covering enterprise software for Computerworld, Eric joined Sybase, an SAP company in April 2010. Eric's views are his alone and do not necessarily represent those of SAP.

This blog is sponsored by SAP.

ie8 fix

Related Links

The best of ZDNet, delivered

ZDNet Newsletters

Get the best of ZDNet delivered straight to your inbox

Blog Roll

Blog Archive

White Papers, Webcasts, & Resources
ie8 fix