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<p>Apple iPads for Members engaged in Select Committee business were initially piloted
by the Administration Committee between April and October 2011. This was followed
by an extended pilot with other Select Committees.</p><p>At the time of the first
pilot, the tablet market was very limited and there were not considered to be any
comparable products to the iPad.</p><p>At the time of the extended pilot the tablet
market had grown and an assessment was carried out by Parliamentary ICT (PICT) that
considered the suitability of a range of tablet devices against a number of different
criteria including security, operating software and price. The assessment concluded
that the Apple iPad – and its supporting software – was the most suitable tablet device
available to Members for this purpose.</p><p>A further assessment of the market was
undertaken when it was decided to offer all Members a tablet following the General
Election. That assessment concluded that the Apple iPad was still the most suitable
primary device. The Apple iPad remains the most mature tablet on the market and was
assessed to be the most effective to support in large numbers. PICT’s experience of
supporting iPads and the retraining of users and support staff if another product
was used were considerations within the assessment.</p><p>Parliament’s existing strategy
is to develop applications in open standards and iPads are not a constraint on that
approach. The latest version of the Apple operating system, iOS 8, has proven to be
more open and has reduced the risk of becoming locked in.</p><p>In equipping their
offices after the election, Members will be able to select IT equipment from an online
catalogue. The catalogue will include a range of laptops, desktops, tablets, printers
and peripherals. PICT intends to offer tablets running the following operating systems,
subject to security assurance and testing: Windows, iOS and Android.</p>
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