Sharepoint 2013 tablet use

Question

I am a humble Sharepoint Admin tasked with researching the use of tablets for my workplace, we have an on premises 2013 deployment. I'm not certain that this is the correct forum to post this question, but since I'm a regular user of this site it seems like the natural place to start. I've tried researching "Sharepoint-Tablet" but have not found much info except this post.

Can a tablet be used on-site to connect to the company Sharepoint intranet? Can it read and edit Sharepoint forms, upload data back to Sharepoint? Would users log on using their standard desktop credentials?

Is the Sharepoint App necessary for use on-site or is it perhaps intended for off-site mobile use?

Some background

We use Sharepoint for many things, including our document management system. We store machine, safety and training documentation in Sharepoint already.

There is a project to investigate going 'electronic only' for documentation. There is a requirement to keep machine documentation on the production line - currently each machine in the line has printed documents. We would like to replace the paperwork with tablets instead. The tablet would be used to display machine documentation. A tablet would also be used to fill in forms and upload to Sharepoint. I found this link for form filling.

Thanks

Answer 1

It depends...

Connectivity If your tablets are connected by wifi to the internal network you will be fine regarding connectivity. If you just have mobile internet or a wifi giving you internet access then you will need a reverse proxy leading your "external" devices requests for your SharePoint back into your network where the servers are. (see KEMP LoadMaster or Microsoft WAP reverse proxy)

Tablet operating system If your tablets are running windows and are part of your active directory domain you will run pretty fine and will (depending on your SharePoint configuration) not be faced with any credential prompts using the browser. This is the recommended operating system using SharePoint on tablets in my opinion. If your tablets are running Android or IOS then you will be faced with credential prompts if using the browser to enter SharePoint. The apps Microsoft supplied in the app stores are confusing to users as they mainly show the technical basis of a site (site contents) rather than the nice "Homepage.aspx" they are used to.

Nintex Forms in use? If you have Nintex Forms (Standard or Enterprise) installed on your farm then you will not have any trouble giving users forms to enter data on the go (within your company having wifi). Nintex has a Forms app for Android/IOS where you can set credentials and where you have some freedom easily designing your forms onto your lists. This is what we are using with IPads for employees all over the production facility to enter data to SharePoint. Forms gives you the opportunity to make forms dynamic and give them rules to ensure to get good data.

Conclusion Wifi is needed. If you want the "full SharePoint experience" use Windows Tablets and Internet Explorer browser. If you just want to make them fill data into lists and do not want them to need to enter credentials I would suggest using Nintex Forms.