Case studies

When the pro-racing division of Toyota Motors said it needed a mobile computing platform to monitor real-time performance data, it turned to Microsoft Surface Pro tablets running Windows 8.

A division of the U.S. Department of Defense is using a ruggedized tablet and specialized software combination to collect and retain health data in harsh conditions especially in places where Internet connectivity is not always available.

Sometimes being first to adopt new technologies like the iPad can be a disadvantage especially if the needs of the business evolve over time.

The crowd was buzzing as they took their seats at the Insperity National Sales Convention in Houston this past February. Each attendee was given a seemingly familiar-shaped 10-inch white box when the conference chair announced in an Oprah-esque moment that “everyone would be getting an iPad.”

While guitars, drums and microphones are the standard tools for School of Rock students, tablets are helping the organization’s after-school program keep up with the times, reach a new generation of musicians and turn up the volume to 11.

One of Asia’s largest life insurance companies says it expects to increase its iPad deployment to as many as 50,000 agents this year, completing a two-year rollout that now serves clients in 16 different countries.

Cleaning up mercury from a California lakebed is a complex process that requires close government regulatory oversight. But iPads have helped make the job much easier and efficient for E2 Consulting Engineers.

Chris Simmonds of Intuitive Surgical shared how fast-growing Intuitive Surgical's sales team of over 800 people uses video and custom apps on the iPad to show off the features of his company's da Vinci Surgical System.

When Mark Rankin needs to review specifications and plans before a construction project starts, he doesn’t reach for a stack of blueprints, flip through a binder, or even wait for his laptop to boot up. He reaches for his iPad.

Silicon Valley professional Cassie Maas shared several of the tools she uses to be a more effective realtor at the recent Tablet Strategy West conference.

Who says you can’t teach businesses a new thing or two about streamlining costs using tablet computers? Executives at West Paw Design say deploying the iPad in their business allows them to innovate on their eco-friendly pet products while saving hundreds of thousands in operational costs each year.

While it is typical for employees to bring tablet computers into the workplace, it’s a different situation when customers influence the use of iPads in business as the preferred method of engagement for sales and marketing teams.

Developing tablet apps for pharmaceuticals reps turns out to be not so different from designing a consumer app. At the Tablet Strategy West conference, two Genentech directors talked about how to align the IT department with the needs of business units. The key, they said, is user experience.

Tablets are quickly becoming some of the best medicine for the healthcare industry. Nurses with Bayada Home Health Care are showing that the smaller form-factors in particular help them spend more time with patients and less time with paperwork.

When NBA All-Star Kobe Bryant wants to size up the competition before tip off he often turns to Mike Procopio, owner of The Hoop Consultants for advice. When Procopio’s company needs help gathering data on hundreds of basketball players, they turn to their iPads.

Trade shows can be an exciting place for companies who want to engage as many customers as possible. But for Bully Dog Technologies, keeping up with the crowds meant salespeople were overwhelmed with questions from start to finish and that wasn't always the most effective use of their time.

British Airways has rolled out more than 2,000 iPads to senior cabin crew since November, but is now focusing on mobile apps, security and building its internal app store.

Painting large objects like bridges and water towers takes precise planning, strict quality control checks, nerves of steel ... and an iPad. At least that’s how one family-owned company is doing it and saving $150 each day to boot.

Apple has done more than any other company to popularize tablets, but Seton Hall University was on the bandwagon years before the first iPad shipped in the Spring of 2010.

Sun Life Financial U.S. made up its mind in 2010 that it needed a better way to empower its 250 sales reps so that they would be more productive. Specifically, they wanted to figure out a way to for these reps to spend less time in the office and more time in front of brokers.

Airport food and beverage operator OTG has already deployed a thousand iPad-based kiosks at restaurants in New York’s JFK International and LaGuardia and plans to grow that number to 7,000 by the end of 2013 with additional deployments planned for Minneapolis-St. Paul International and Toronto Pearson International airports.

Telecom provider BT recently started rolling out 5,900 convertible Windows 8 tablets from Panasonic to its UK-based Openreach engineers. The result? BT says the move has made staff more productive and happier with their jobs.

New York University College of Dentistry's student/professor outreach program is now using tablets to collect patient data.

The road to Windows 8 started for PCL when it took a good, hard look at what was happening in the field.

UK-based Rare Management shares how the bring-your-own device (BYOD) movement is helping the company reduce costs and boost reliability when it comes to testing out the latest ski equipment.

Retailer Benetton's largest store uses the iPad to photo and barcode every item it stocks to help sell fashion to customers more efficiently and track sales for inventory control.

Massachusetts school uses Lenovo ThinkPads and iPads to determine how and if teaching can be improved by using tablets.

As applications for admission soar, the school’s admissions department turns to tablets to make it easier to get to and keep track of all auditions globally.

When it comes to tablets, hospitality companies know they need two strategies: one for inside the company, the other customer-facing. La Quinta is moving ahead with both.

Citi Private Bank, among the first of its competitors to bring tablet apps to clients, is pushing the envelope when it comes to offering sophisticated views of their portfolios and eventually would like to bring simple trading capability to the apps as well.

One would be hard-pressed to be more moved by how a tablet is being used to help with kid's therapy.

Specialized information firm IHS has gotten on the iPad bandwagon with an app designed to help its customers make multi-billion dollar investment decisions.

Today TabTimes introduces its "Tablet Leaders" series - profiles of public and private organizations that are leading the way in creating innovative, beneficial and sometimes unexpected tablet programs to the benefit of their employees and customers.