By: Bill Waldron
A close friend told me one day to “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” So I was a career changer. One of those lucky guys that realized one day their hobby was more fun and paid more than their job. That realization resulted in me jumping head first into the world of networking and a deep-rooted fascination with the processes of getting information from point A to point B. Over the years there have been various technologies that have kindled that fire to a certain extent and renewed my drive for the technology I love.
In my 15 years as a network guy, none of the emerging gadgets have excited me as much as getting my first iPad. It’s not because I’m an Apple guy to the core (pardon the pun), although I am. I started my IT career in Novell and spent years as an MCSE before transitioning to the world of the Cisco Value Added Reseller. Its because I’ve seen first hand how it has transformed how I do my job, how I read about doing my job, and how as a company we approach architecting networks to support them. I work with customers to design networks, and now more often than not, the conversations turn toward things like BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), K12 iPad Grants, and VDI. I even take notes at these design sessions, participate in WebEx presentations, and annotate design documents during wireless site surveys, among other tasks, on my own “personal” iPad. It has become a major tool for me at work. Like most of the technology world a couple years ago, I didn’t see that coming. But I’m ready for it now.
According to Forbes, Apple reports that over 92% of the Fortune 500 companies are either currently deploying or testing iPads. It is also reported that over 2,300 K12 school districts in the U.S. are using iPads, with over 600 of those having a 1:1 iPad to student ratio. The San Diego Unified School District alone is rolling out 20,000 iPads, according to Forbes. No, that’s not a typo. I think its safe to say that the iPad is not a fad. Organizations are investing heavily in this technology, and the infrastructure to support them. I feel very fortunate to work for a company that exists to support technologies such as this. What can I design for you today?
Sent from my iPad