Does the introduction of Apple’s iPad mark the arrival of yet another consumer electronics fad or does it signal the beginning of a transformative era for business computing? With over three million units sold in the first quarter after launch, the iPad is clearly a consumer adoption success of unprecedented proportion. However, if the iPad takes off with businesses , we may be riding the front edge of a tidal wave of transformation.

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THE BIRTH OF A “KILLER PLATFORM”?
by Scott May, Mike Melia and Dave Sutton
Does the introduction of Apple’s iPad mark the arrival of yet another
consumer electronics fad or does it signal the beginning of a transfor-
mative era for business computing? With over 3 million units sold in
the first quarter after launch, the iPad is clearly a consumer adoption
success of unprecedented proportion. However, if the iPad takes off
with businesses, we may be riding the front edge of a tidal wave of
transformation.
We believe that the iPad and other new tablet technologies have the
potential to create entirely new customer experiences that no one has
envisioned; to monetize the assets of a business in new ways never
thought of before; and to solve complex, intractable business prob-
lems. The iPad represents much more than a personal productivity
improvement device; it’s a “killer platform” that market leaders will use
to enable new business strategies, to create sustainable competitive
advantages, empower customers and perhaps to transform businesses.
The iPad - Don’t Conform, Transform!

2. 2
Sure, there are a number of interesting business-use cases floating
around that have garnered some attention: law firms substituting
an iPad for the lawyer’s laptop; car dealers using an iPad on the
showroom floor to initiate consumer credit approvals; and doctors
analyzing X-Rays and CT scans on the iPad’s high resolution screen.
These are certainly clever uses of the technology that will undoubt-
edly result in productivity gains for certain types of businesses and
their people…. but not exactly revolutionary stuff.
INTRODUCTION
Since the formal announcement in January 2010 by Apple CEO
Steve Jobs, much has been written on the breakthrough mobile
computing power of the iPad, the huge number of applications
available at the App Store and the stunning features and functions
of the device itself. With unit sales now in the millions and growing
every day, the iPad is well down the path to winning the hearts and
minds of the general population. Not convinced? Do a quick scan
on YouTube and you’ll find countless stories of consumers from 2½
years to 100 years of age whose lives have literally been transformed
by the iPad. There is something fundamentally different about this
device and what it represents.
But where does the iPad stand with business people as a tool for
marketing products and services more effectively, addressing com-
plex operational challenges and generating real business value?
Consider that to this day, the iPhone is still playing catch-up to the
RIM Blackberry for share supremacy in the smartphone category for
business users… so what about the iPad? Not surprisingly, many
business people view the iPad as merely the larger cousin of the
iPhone – and perhaps a more pleasing form factor for sending email,
playing games and reading content. In fact, very little has been
written about the impact the iPad can and will have on businesses.
It is important to note that less than 5% of all iPad
apps currently in circulation are business apps
Of course, people are citing how
wildly popular these iPad business
apps are. For example, Citrix
Systems claims to have over
145,000 downloads of their free
iPad app for accessing corporate
programs. Citrix “Receiver for
iPad” provides users with access
to virtual desktops, applications
and data on their corporate
systems.

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iPad users can interact with Windows 7 apps and docs with confidence that com-
munications and information are not stored on the device but kept secure on your
corporate network.
These capabilities may seem impressive, but do they really reflect a transforma-
tion in the way companies are approaching media-rich, mobile computing? Or, is
this type of business app just an example of what Michael Hammer – co-author of
Reengineering the Corporation - would describe as “paving the cow paths”. Em-
bedding outdated processes in silicon and software and conforming to traditional
data processing paradigms rather than “obliterating them” as Hammer would do
and designing the process around dramatically different customer experiences with
breakthrough performance improvements.
What we’re really interested in and curious to find are the cases where the iPad
has created an entirely new customer experience no one had envisioned, mon-
etized the assets of a business in a new way that was never thought of, or solved a
complex business problem that was thought unsolvable. In short, where does the
iPad have the potential to enable new business strategies, create sustainable com-
petitive advantages and perhaps transform businesses and customer experiences?
Unlike the launch of the iPhone - when many business users were skeptical and
discounted the device as lacking in enterprise capabilities – this time around,
savvy business and technology leaders have emerged as iPad early adopters and
experimenters… and we’ve been speculating on just what they may be up to!
Could the iPad - and its tablet platform descendents -
represent the next “KILLER PLATFORM” for business?

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KILLER PLATFORMS AND EMERGENT KNOWLEDGE
In his ground-breaking 2006 paper entitled Killer Platforms, Chunka
Mui, (co-author of Unleashing the Killer App) defines the term emer-
gent knowledge as “categories of business information that were
previously impossible, or at least impractical, to use on a regular
basis but now are made feasible by advances in information technol-
ogy”. He went on to assert that: “Leveraged well, emergent knowl-
edge about product and process conditions, customer preferences,
and other environmental factors could spark numerous innovations.”
The key categories of emergent knowledge that a killer platform
must leverage are portrayed in Figure 1:
There is something fundamentally different about
this device and what it represents
FIGURE 1: CATEGORIES OF EMERGENT KNOWLEDGE

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We believe that the tablet platform, led by the iPad,
just may be the KILLER PLATFORM
that Chunka Mui envisioned for leveraging emergent
knowledge and sparking innovation in many types
of businesses. Mui’s approach was to map catego-
ries of emergent knowledge that a business must
harness to achieve competitive advantages against
enabling functionality. In applying that approach to
the iPad (see Figure 2), we conclude that the tablet
platform’s transformational potential results less
from the individual components and more from a
unique convergence of technologies, a compelling
form factor and overwhelming user adoption.

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Unlike the smartphone and the laptop, the iPad clearly has the
potential to leverage emergent knowledge about business capabili-
ties, customers and competitors, and fundamentally transform the
business. However, to get the most out of this tablet platform, a
business must turn it into a sustainable information advantage.
Let’s face it, user productivity gains are nice, but they’re easy for
your competitors to replicate. After all, anyone can buy an iPad,
browse the App store and download one of the thousands of apps
promising many-fold productivity gains. Those seeking transforma-
tion and true innovation must strive for custom iPad apps or solu-
tions that can’t be easily replicated. Or, create custom iPad apps
that enable your organization to innovate more quickly than the
competition.
So, just what types of business applications may
be ripe for transformation leveraging tablet technologies like the iPad?
FIGURE 2: MAPPING THE iPAD TO EMERGENT KNOWLEDGE CATEGORIES
A Potential Killer Platform
EmergentKnowledge
Technical Enablers

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4ENTERTAINMENT
& EDUTAINMENT
3TALENT
DEVELOPMENT &
TRAINING
2COMPLEX
SALES
1CUSTOMER
EMPOWERMENT
In developing our ‘top five’ list, we filtered through a wide range of business process scenarios that would benefit from custom iPad solutions.
Again, we focused on categories of applications where leveraging emergent knowledge about the business, its products, services and custom-
ers might serve as a source for sustainable competitive advantage. Our top five list includes:
TOP 5 BUSINESS APPLICATIONS RIPE FOR TRANSFORMATION
5VALUE CHAIN
OPTIMIZATION
Now, let’s review each of these scenarios in a bit
more detail and explore a few hypotheses about
how the iPad may have a transformative impact.

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For many categories of products and services, customers
already control how they want to engage with a brand and
the iPad offers a vehicle for the customer to “take the
reins” literally and experientially.
In a business or consumer setting, consider how the iPad
can be customized to provide a more personalized, con-
venient and immersive experience. What we have found
is that the iPad enables a unique brand-to-customer
bond, allowing the customer to feel empowered and more
likely to behave in a manner desired by the brand. The
customer empowerment scenario is enabled on the iPad
through the convergence of visualization, self-guided
experiences and payment processing.
1CUSTOMER
EMPOWERMENT

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VISUALIZATION
As point-of-sale evolves from transactional to more interactive
and experiential, iPads will play an increasingly prominent role.
Tablet technology allows the consumer to view a product and
immediately visualize how it might look on her or in a particular
setting. Furthermore, it gives the customer a chance to visual-
ize choices in context – such as seeing yourself in a chair and
viewing the piece with different fabrics or accessories surround-
ing you… even placed in a particular type of room and color
palette. An iPad app offers the ability to save or freeze the
images for comparison and to enhance the experience by sharing
through email or social media hooks. The consumer could save
information and images for future reference – in-store or through
a personalized micro site at home – and the merchant could use
that data and behavior as part of their relationship marketing ef-
forts. This experience could be offered in-store as self-service or
facilitated by a store associate.
Here are a few retail categories where we believe iPad apps or other
tablet technologies may start popping up to empower customers:
• Apparel –business suits to couture to wedding gowns and formal wear
• Accessories and watches
• Furniture
• Home improvement/renovation – kitchens, bathrooms, flooring
• High-end luxury products

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SELF GUIDED EXPERIENCES
Customers respond to messages and information that are timely and
meaningful. The iPad combined with GPS and 3G/4G accessibility,
could enable relevant messages; promotions and recommendations
based on the consumer’s general in-store location and/or established
profile.
This concept certainly has been tested – via kiosks, online shopping
carts and at retail checkout aisles – but not with the form factor and
capability to leverage emergent knowledge that the iPad brings.
Just consider this scenario: you’re shopping at a large home im-
provement store like a Home Depot or Lowe’s. Instead of wandering
the store, an iPad or tablet computer is available for you to explore
what it might take to put a deck on the back of your house. After
making a few selections on the touch screen, providing inputs on
square footage and reviewing the construction plan, you are pre-
sented with a list of materials you need, directions to the items in
the store, product reviews, comparisons and a running total. As you
move through the various departments, the tablet suggests comple-
mentary product suggestions – cross-sell and up-sell alternatives.
The initial design process could be self-serve or facilitated by an
associate. Furthermore, materials in the store could be collected by
an associate on your behalf and delivered to the checkout or loading
dock. Either way, this scenario illustrates not only a highly efficient
engagement opportunity for the merchant, but also a compelling
shopping experience for the customer.
Use cases for this type of iPad application could range from grocery
and big box retailers to large specialty stores and sports stadiums…
even hospitality venues and restaurants. For example, consider how
iconic Atlanta steakhouse, Bone’s, uses the iPad to enhance the
wine selection experience, grow advocacy for premium wines and
generate incremental revenue for the restaurant (see Figure 3). We
view Bone’s success as a best practice case for how the iPad can
enable immersive, relevant experiences that strengthen the bond
between brand and customer.
A relevant, timely, location-specific offer
activates customer purchase intent and
creates powerful business results.

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It was important that the restaurant’s wine buyers could add new vintages, track the
number of bottles left with notification to the customer (i.e., if there were three or less
bottles available) and make other updates daily. To accommodate these needs, we de-
signed the iPad app to auto-update over a wireless network within each restaurant from
a wine inventory database called Cellar Control, which just happened to be developed
by Richard and his group. The interface was designed and tested. Adjustments for type
size, color and sub navigation were added and the iPads were ready for launch.
Results over the first month were truly surprising. Customers young and old were laud-
ing kudos, pointing to the “cool” factor and great information that broadened their
horizons. They only needed the shortest of tutorials and their use of the iPad only
extended order time by less than a minute on average.
The best news of all is that customer spend was up an average of 10% more on wine
purchases when using the iPad.
We’ll drink to that!
iCellar iPad Experience For
Liberty House Restaurants
When Richard Lewis approached The Melia Group to create a customer wine buying
experience on the iPad for his iconic steakhouse, Bone’s (and another of his well-
known restaurants, Blue Ridge Grill), we didn’t really know how customers would react.
Would they be disinterested or would they be too interested and extend the table stay
too long? Would the Bone’s older demographic enjoy it or not find it easy to use? Would
the iPads walk out the door? All of these elements were considered, as we designed
the experience.
Bone’s has a wine cellar of over 10,000 bottles; so, it was critical to give users a num-
ber of ways to search the wines. Bone’s has a clientele of very informed wine buyers;
consequently, we expected that reviews, labels, stories and limited selections would
enhance and validate their experience. The iPad design had to fit with the Bone’s
brand, work well in low light, yet not be too bright to distract other diners. We also
didn’t want to take the waiter or the wine buyers out of their direct interaction with the
customer. So, we did not consider automatic order placement (which could be done
over a wireless network for other applications).
FIGURE 3: INNOVATIVE iPAD USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN

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RETAIL
“How-to” for do-it-yourselfers, in-store shopping list and navigation.
RESTAURANT
Wine selection, order management, “Daily Specials”, integrated reviews and menu
recommendations (e.g. Yelp, Zagat).
HOSPITALITY
Profile-driven in-room guest service; information and special offers; conference
announcements and activities.
EDUCATION VENUES
GPS / 3G/4G-enabled experiences for university orientations, alumni events, mu-
seum tours, conferences and trade shows.
There is no doubting the iPad’s ability to
empower customers and deliver compelling,
profitable experiences. However, the iPad
customer experience must be planned and
designed very carefully and deliberately.
Otherwise, it may become cumbersome and
actually distract customers from making
purchase decisions. The iPad offers so much
potential for leveraging emergent knowledge,
presenting special messages or offers, edu-
cational information and recommendations…
all based on the user’s location and profile or
preferences. When dealing with customer
experience design, there can be too much of
a good thing. So, there is a need to focus on
thoughtful, relevant and integrated messaging
that will not only enhance the customer experi-
ence but also build loyalty and advocacy.
There are several types of businesses where
iPad apps or other tablet technologies will
enable self-guided customer experiences:

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PAYMENT PROCESSING
For years, associates have been able to perform price and inven-
tory checks at established locations within a store. However, the
use of iPads enabling associates (or even customers themselves)
to perform these checks or take payment anywhere in the store
creates not only an enhanced customer experience but also
notable improvements in efficiencies. Who wouldn’t appreciate a
quicker way to compare prices, review products, check availabil-
ity or check out more quickly?
The “Square” (www.squareup.com), which allows merchants to
take payment wherever there’s an Internet connection, already
has extended their service beyond smartphones to the iPad. The
small unit functions as a credit card reader through a swipe
device that plugs into the headphone jack of an iPad. Copies of
receipts are provided via text message or email.
Applications for such a payment processing solution exist across
the retail landscape: from home improvement to consumer
electronics to general merchandise. Specialty retailers could
loan iPads to their customers in the store as a means of further
empowering them and extending their in-store experience beyond
kiosks and self-serve checkout stations.

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2COMPLEX
SALES
Customized iPad solutions could enable a salesperson or
a consumer to conveniently peruse a wide range options
from product configurations and price to financing and
inventory availability. In the business technology sec-
tor, use of the iPad could provide a compelling, always-
accessible solution for evaluating complex configurations
and combinations of products. The device’s streamlined
form, display size and rich visuals, combined with real-
time data update capabilities, provide for a compelling
experience that’s certain to improve customer engage-
ment and sales conversion.
Here are several potential use cases where iPad apps or
other tablet technologies will enhance high-involvement
and complex selling processes:

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LUXURY PRODUCTS
Products with a range of visual customization options, such as RVs, private aircraft,
boats, autos and luxury items. Could apply as well to complex industrial vehicles and
technological products. With more to come in the automotive space, Mercedes Benz
and Chevrolet already are testing the use of iPads as part of their showroom floor sales
process.
REAL ESTATE
Commercial and residential real estate provide for visualization of properties (interactive
walk-through) led by an agent or broker. On the commercial side, brokers could incor-
porate visualization of finished space and cost analysis of various build-out options.
Customer could view off-site or on-demand when at a property location.
MEETINGS AND EVENTS
Event/catering firms, restaurant, hospitality. Visualize space design, food stations,
meeting room configurations.
TECHNOLOGY
Solution demonstration, complex configurations, cross-sell and up-sell components,
product catalogs, sales support tools and pricing.

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3TALENT
DEVELOPMENT &
TRAINING
Effective development and training of people is a critical
success factor in practically every type of business. Get-
ting outside the traditional classroom setting and deliver-
ing just-in-time, on-the-job training can be a difficult and
costly endeavor. However, that is just what the fast-
paced, competitive world of business requires. Three-ring
binders stuffed full of materials and trainers beaming
Powerpoint slides just won’t cut it for companies seek-
ing to continuously improve and develop their people at
the “moment of truth” with customers. Several features
of the iPad make it an ideal platform for developing and
training people anytime, anywhere:

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• Large enough device to handle most training needs, yet lightweight and portable
• Interactive, tactile and easy-to-use
• Rich media capabilities (graphics, video, sound, etc.)
• Accessible anywhere, real-time communications (e.g., 3G/4G, and Wi-Fi connectivity)
• Dynamic, easy to update content
• Role-based permissions
• Flexible platform, manageable, secure
Although applications are far-reaching, most prevalent use likely will occur in companies
with complex products or solutions and those that sell through multi-tier distribution chan-
nels. Industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications
and technology appear most likely to benefit. Taking advantage of “un-tethered” 3G and
Wi-Fi networks, training programs could benefit from real-time updates, live demonstrations,
“consult an expert” and interactive Q&A sessions. Future camera and camcorder capabilities,
combined with improved storage, will only enhance the rich media learning experience.

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4ENTERTAINMENT
& EDUTAINMENT
Intuitively, we know that people want to be entertained,
stimulated and inspired – it’s an innate human desire. Mar-
keters have known since the beginning of the advertising era
that a clever jingle or joke will go a long way towards captur-
ing customers’ attention and getting them to buy products
and services. To this day, entertainment and advertising are
synonymous in many categories of products and services
from beer and fast food to cars and car insurance.
The early adopters of the iPad attest to the fact that the
device is an amazing vehicle for entertainment, education
and information sharing. Whether you love books, movies,
music or interactive games, the iPad offers a rich media
entertainment experience that engages you unlike any other
previous device.

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And when you need to not only grab attention but also to educate your customers on the benefits
of a product or service, the iPad’s ability to leverage emergent knowledge allows entirely new
ways to connect with a target audience. We refer to this scenario as “edutainment” – where
engaging education meets compelling entertainment.
Savvy business owners and marketers are already thinking about ways to entertain and “edutain”
their customers through rich media experiences enabled by tablet technologies like the iPad. For
example, sport properties, teams and venues offer fans a compelling experience through smart-
phones today: real-time scores, game broadcast access; replays and highlights. With the iPad,
the experience can be enhanced even further with in-stadium live experiences with personalized
camera angles; special access to team stats, one-on-one interviews with players and custom
views of the game tailored to the fan’s unique preferences. From their stadium seat, fans can
have remote access to food and beverage menus - ordering without leaving their seat. The fan
could even receive personalized merchandise, food and beverage, ticket offers and “behind the
scenes” experiences based on his/her specific preferences stored on a team’s loyalty program.
And consumer research – polls, surveys, and sampling – already common at sporting events,
could break new ground as a result of the iPad’s tactile nature, screen size, rich graphic capabil-
ity, Wi-Fi and 3G/4G connectivity.
The sky is truly the limit when it comes to how companies and their marketing
team can transform customer experiences and deliver dramatic results by using
the iPad as a vehicle for entertainment or edutainment.

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5VALUE CHAIN
OPTIMIZATION
While maybe not as “sexy” as our other top iPad business
process scenarios and applications, enabling functional
efficiencies and effectiveness up and down corporate value
chains could emerge as the most quickly adopted areas of
usage for the iPad and other tablet platforms.
Consider that many specialty retailers like Best Buy, Bass
Pro Shops and Abercrombie & Fitch have beaten competi-
tors and won customers by recognizing the need for unique
offerings and more engaging customer experiences than
those found in the big box retailers and discounters. By
doing so, they escaped the black hole of price competition.
But that isn’t nearly enough to avoid death by discounting.
Retailers need a killer platform to support and sustain their
strategy, specifically, expertise in these core processes:

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PRODUCT DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT
Creating unique offerings means heavy investments in product
design and development. Protecting those investments requires
accurate demand forecasting for goods that may have little
precedent. Because suppliers assume more risk as well, retailers
must work much more closely with them (and even their sup-
pliers’ suppliers) in demand planning and synchronizing orders
and production calendars. The iPad and tablet technologies are
well suited to help retailers gather insight from their customers
in the store and design products that they know will delight their
customers. Furthermore, the iPad can leverage this emergent
knowledge and help retailers collaborate much more strongly with
their suppliers in design and development
for the benefit of all
players in the value chain.

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INVENTORY MANAGEMENT
Generally speaking, it is better to be conservative with orders and
maximize inventory turns - even going so far as to force stock-
outs as a strategy for driving demand for very fashionable or high
demand merchandise (a strategy successfully deployed by Apple
with the original iPhone). When a retailer has excess inventory, it
cannot negotiate a return to a vendor or ask for markdown money.
This is to say that if the retailer doesn’t manage these and other
supply chain issues well, its margin on popular products can
quickly go from positive to negative. And even if margins are
positive, an inefficient supply chain will whittle them down. Us-
ing an iPad to track and monitor inventory levels dynamically and
to share this emergent knowledge up and down the value chain is
a no brainer.
Inventories must be managed tightly to sustain
profit margins these days.

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PRODUCT ASSORTMENT & MERCHANDISING
To be sure, having the right unique products trumps everything
else. A streamlined supply chain cannot rescue product and
service offerings that customers find unappetizing. But if its
proprietary offerings are on the mark, a retailer must make sure
two critical capabilities are in good working order: product assort-
ment and merchandising. An optimal store assortment of prod-
ucts in the store does not happen by accident, and it begins long
before the product is ready for manufacture. Coordination of, and
communication between, the different parties involved (design,
development, merchandising, planning, marketing, sourcing
and the vendor) is key. Again, the iPad is an ideal platform for
capturing, analyzing and sharing this type of information between
trading partners up and down the value chain to assure optimal
assortment in the store supported with compelling merchandising
and in-store communications. As we have suggested in previ-
ous sections, the iPad itself can become an integral part of the
customer experience and serve as a
in the store.
“Virtual Merchandiser”

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We believe that iPad and other tablet computing applications will go
well beyond being “dumb terminals” connected to enterprise re-
source planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM),
supply chain management (SCM) and logistics information systems.
The iPad will become a killer platform by identifying growth opportunities and enabling value chain efficiencies,
effectiveness and continuous improvement initiatives. Custom iPad applications and solutions will integrate
with other corporate systems like ERP, CRM and SCM and become important sources of emergent knowledge for
refining business strategies and creating differentiated customer experiences.

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For example, consider a sales person handing a 5 lb. laptop to a couple in a
car showroom to view detailed features as they physically get in and out of
different models… really clunky. The iPad at 1.5 lbs and only ½” thick is
easily held in one hand, has great screen resolution, plays smooth full screen
videos and – through wireless or 3G/4G – can connect to any point-of-sale
(“POS”) or database. So the customer and spouse sit in the chosen vehicle
and make interior trim, color choices, choose options and compare
functionality through video demos. Then, they build their car on the spot, get
a price, discuss privately and are able to send their choice to the POS system
where the finance and sales person take over.
What makes this POS experience really work, besides the portability of the
device, is the iPad interface design itself. Handing the iPad to someone who
has never used touch-screen technology, it takes them about 30 enjoyable
seconds to discover how to navigate, enlarge and scroll. Removing the mouse
from the computing equation changes the whole user experience. The beauty
of the iPad interface design is that it enables a common user experience
across a wide range of iPad apps - learn it once and you never have to think
about it again.
That said, planning for use of the iPad in a wide variety of business
environments presents new challenges and opportunities.
The Incredible Usability
Experience Of The Apple iPad
The iPad may not seem to be a “sea change” technology at first look, but the quick adoption curve and the rave reviews of the user interface
make it clear that something important is going on here.
For those who have never picked up and used an iPad, the first question is always: “Why do I need a larger version of the iPhone or another
laptop? The answer is: you don’t know until you hold one and use it even for just a few minutes. A first interaction with the iPad can certainly
be a transformative experience for the user.
Most of us are accustomed to laptop computing, smartphones and being “un-tethered” from our businesses, but the handheld size and sheer
usability of tablet technology truly opens new doors. The operative term here is usability. In the same way smartphones opened the door to
personal empowerment through applications (e.g., “iPhone apps”), the iPad is opening the door to more complex activities including business
empowerment through apps and customized user experiences.
1.
Type size and navigation hot spots need to be larger, simpler for
touch screen navigation. Also, take advantage of the sharp display
and processing speed by using larger visuals. These are some of
the biggest differences compared to traditional web design.
2.
Take advantage of the built-in gallery, navigation and style scrolling
options in the Apple SDK (software development kit), which are
fluid and intuitive.
3.
Use video instead of Flash elements that will not run in the iPad
platform. Video can also be leveraged in many other ways including
YouTube and Facebook. Video formats that run well on iPad
include MP4, Quicktime and HTML5 that seems to run the best.
4.
Consider the lighting environment you are operating in. The design
for screen contrast and color saturation will be much different in a
dark restaurant than in daylight.
5.
The iPad already operates on HTML5 but IE will not be compliant
until first quarter 2011 (Firefox and Safari are already potentially
compliant). When IE catches up, you will be able to program web
and iPad projects together with the differences noted above.
FIGURE 4: KEY CONSIDERATIONS IIN DESIGNING THE iPAD USER EXPERIENCE

26. 26
WILL THE iPAD BE A KILLER PLATFORM FOR YOUR BUSINESS?
There’s no doubt that the iPad tablet platform has the potential to
be a transformational force in many different industries and busi-
nesses… for the right types of strategies and processes.
The following criteria for success have emerged from our experi-
ence and evaluation of the iPad and related tablet technologies. To
determine if the iPad can leverage emergent knowledge, enable your
business strategy and transform your customers’ experiences, you
must:
But how do you know when the custom use of an
iPad is right for your business?

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Establish Measures & Metrics – How would you define and
measure success?... economic value, efficiency, satisfaction,
net promoter score or other indicators? Could you incorporate
a test & learn approach to rollout and measurement?
Deliver Innovative Content– Could a custom iPad business ap-
plication help you repurpose content in a truly innovative way?
Don’t underestimate the critical importance of the right type
and level of content.
Reveal Market & Consumer Insight – Could a custom iPad ap-
plication provide behavioral insight that you otherwise either
would not be able to obtain or not obtain as easily?
Assure Data Protection, Privacy & Security – How would data
be sourced and managed? In consumable bites? Apple has
addressed data security concerns and made it easier to man-
age for both IT and business users.
Plan For Ongoing Maintenance & Support – Who, how and
when?
Follow this criteria, answer these questions about your busi-
ness, and you’ll find out if the iPad has the potential to be a
killer platform for your business.
Clearly State The Problem – What business problems you are
trying to solve? Think beyond the mainstream and don’t limit
yourself by traditional approaches. Embrace the potential and
use your imagination.
Understand The Behaviors You Are Trying To Elicit –How
would an iPad business application significantly enhance the
experience and drive certain behaviors of your target audi-
ence? Will it “speak” to their interests and attitudes and
complement their existing behaviors?
Consider The Market & Competitive Frame – Would the new
capability provide an experience or solve problems in a man-
ner to set you apart competitively? Would it address or take
advantage of specific market trends and influences?
Assure Business Alignment – How would an iPad business
application align with and enable your:
- Business goals and objectives
- Brand positioning and strategy
- Customer strategy
- Other communication channels
- Data and systems
- Business processes
- Budgets

28. 28
Conclusion
What we’ve learned so far is that the Apple iPad,
and other tablet platforms that soon will follow, are not so much
personal computing devices as they are conduits for leveraging
“emergent knowledge,” re-engineering business processes and
monetizing information assets – all focused on empowering cus-
tomers and creating entirely new experiences.
In certain industries like media and publishing, transformation is
already well underway as the iPad (and the Kindle and Nook be-
fore it) has disrupted the traditional value chain and now serves
as an “end-to-end” killer platform for distribution, monetization,
information consumption, feedback and social interaction. Don’t
be surprised if future generations liken the publishing industry to
the 20th century’s “buggy-whip manufacturers”.
Much like the wheel and the combustion engine preceded the au-
tomobile, the collection of technologies that make up the iPad and
other tablet platforms are not new. However, the convergence of
these technologies on a high fashion platform with intuitive usability,
and at attractive price points, seeds the perfect storm for business
transformation. In fact, many industries are ripe for transformation
and it will only be a matter of time before specialty retailers, hospi-
tality leaders and innovative health care providers emerge with their
“killer platforms” to win over the hearts, minds and wallets of their
customers.
The Time Is Now... SO ARE YOU READY?

29. ®
29TopRight LLC & The Melia Group copyright 2010.
DAVE SUTTON
Founder and Managing Partner of TopRight, a strategic marketing
consulting firm headquartered in Atlanta, GA with offices in Wash-
ington, DC and Chicago. TopRight helps its clients move their
business up and forward in their competitive frame – to corner the
markets where they choose to compete. Bringing prominent man-
agement consultants together with Fortune 100 senior marketing
executives, TopRight delivers strategy, creativity, technology en-
ablement and analytics that drive business performance. For more
information visit www.toprightpartners.com.
MIKE MELIA & SCOTT MAY
The Melia Group, is a unique team of senior marketing, creative
and technology experts who design, develop and deliver meaningful
experiences that bond brands with customers, growing sustainable
relationships and generating real business results. For twenty years,
Melia has produced breakthrough results for clients like National
Geographic, Knoll, Emory Healthcare, Turner Networks, The Smith-
sonian Institute, VH1, Solis Hotels and Resorts and Xerox. For more
visit www.themeliagroup.com.