Apple targeting iPad at corporate buyers with Verizon

While the majority of the company's iPad marketing is focused on consumer uses, Apple is now actively selling its new tablet to business customers. In October, it was reported that the company was working with Unisys Corp to help it reach corporate and government audiences.

Apple is now working to reach business users with its iPad by partnering with mobile carriers including Verizon, which began selling the iPad along with its MiFi personal hotspot 3G service in October.

A job posting shows Apple is recruiting for a "Verizon iPad system engineer" position to work with its existing iPad sales team and carrier business teams to sell iPads in corporate environments.

"The successful candidate will have enterprise sales experience and must have an existing knowledge of the mobile market and the technologies that support it," the posting notes, specifically mentioning "enterprise messaging and collaboration, VPN, WiFi and enterprise security technologies" as requirements along with "experience with Microsoft Exchange Active Sync and Exchange Server."

Applicants "must have the ability to effectively work with all levels in an organization including corporate CIOs and IT departments" the job posting states. "Through interactions with the carrier sales teams and business customers, the iPad System Engineer will play a critical role in helping key corporate accounts develop confidence in the Apple solution."

Steve Jobs eying iPad future

Two and a half months ago, Apple's chief executive Steve Jobs told analysis in the company's Q4 conference call that "we haven't pushed it (the iPad) real hard in business, and it's being grabbed out of our hands."

Jobs added, "we've got a tiger by the tail here, and this is a new model of computing which we've already got tens of millions of people trained on with the iPhone, and that lends itself to lots of different aspects of life, both personal and business."

Despite a variety of new tablet products being introduced by licensees of Android and Microsoft's Windows 7, as well as new products being promised by BlackBerry maker RIM (the PlayBook, shown below) and Palm's new owner HP, Jobs said he wasn't worried about competitors. "We're not done. We're working on a lot of things for the future," adding, "we're out to win this one."