Running pilots, trials, proofs of concept
The Case: A Managed Tablet Service Trial
As part of a wider transformation agenda focused on flexible working, a large organisation explored whether tablet devices could become a standard, supported part of its end‑user computing estate. This was driven by a clear business question:
Could a managed tablet service materially improve productivity and reduce reliance on printing, laptops, and fixed desks, without introducing unacceptable security risk or operational overhead?
To answer this, we ran a structured, time‑bound trial involving both senior leaders and operational roles.
Devices were issued with defined configurations, support boundaries, and security controls
Users were asked to work differently, not just use the new kit within their existing workflows
Crucially, the trial was positioned as temporary. It existed to inform a decision, not to gradually turn into business‑as‑usual by default. It could have been pulled, and the users knew it.
The trial was framed, not around whether people liked the devices, but around whether the service changed behaviour in ways that mattered to the organisation. Key questions included:
did it reduce the need to return to a desk or PC during the day?
did it meaningfully reduce printing for meetings and governance forums?
did it support real productive work tasks, not just email access?
what could it replace, and what could it not?
Alongside user feedback, IT tracked support implications, integration challenges, and constraints. This meant the organisation learned not only where value was created, but where it was not.
What the Experiment Revealed
The results were nuanced, which is exactly what good experimentation should produce.
Productivity gains were real in specific contexts.
Users could work between meetings, reviewing papers on the move, while they were travelling
It reduced printed packs for senior forums
At the same time, the trial surfaced clear limits:
Certain applications were not suitable - some tasks still required laptops
None of this undermined the business case. It strengthened it. Instead of a vague sense that “tablets are useful for flexible and field-work”, the organisation gained a grounded understanding of where tablets belonged in the operating model, and where they did not.
after the trial
The outcome of the trial was absorbed into procurement, support, governance, and budgeting. The organisation’s way of working shifted, but in a controlled and deliberate way. Without this step, the trial would have remained an interesting exercise. With it, the organisation evolved its operating model.