I get an email daily about how someone launched an iPad app. Wahoo. Apparently, launching an app is now a media event.

People forget a couple of important details:

The Cloud is all about High Availability of data. If you want people to use your service, end users must be able to access their data on your platform from whatever Internet-enabled device they use. Apple, Blackberry, Android, Windows - doesn't matter.

The iPad app shouldn't just be about data access. What makes the app any better than just using the website? It has to either make the business process easier or it has to be enhanced. It shouldn't be like the LinkedIn apps that I have seen, which offer limited functionality.

Just giving your sales force an iPad doesn't make them better. But designing an app that can access network maps, lit buildings, collateral, service inquiries, quoting tool and forms might make them more efficient, which is the aim.

At some point, having a couple of hundred icons on your device to access every website you need is going to get arduous. Scrolling through bookmarks in your browser is easier. Unless that app is awesome and useful, it gets relegated to the back of the line.

So, as a note, stop sending me your press releases about your iPad/Android app releases.