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It only makes sense for professional sports teams to work towards a digital workflow. What once required large binders with hundreds of pages of paper to print a playbook can now be accomplished using a simple tablet device, like an Apple iPad. What once required players to sit in front of television screens with remote controls and shuffle through countless tapes can all be loaded on the same tablet device. This signals a change for the future for NFL teams. The Baltimore Ravens and Tampa Bay Buccaneers utilized iPad devices in the 2011 season and more teams are going that route in the future.

In an interview with Dan Croft, the CEO of Mission Critical Wireless, he spoke to me about how his company is working with the Houston Texans to work towards a digital workflow. The Texans' organization utilized Mission Critical Wireless to help employ a Mobile Device Management platform. Croft stated that, "Mobile Device Management software allows a company to manage and control the devices". The benefits of MDM is that it presents a high level of security for companies looking to secure their devices. Another big advantage is that a MDM strategy doesn't focus on just one platform. There are great devices available that run Apple's mobile operating system, Google's Android, RIM's Blackberry devices, and many more. The implementation of MDM allows a team like the Texans to expand into many different operating systems and use a wide range of devices within their organization.

He stated that there were very few objections when implementing the digital workflow because the organizations had increasing requests from users. There is also very little training needed because to the end user the device operates in a way they are already familiar with. Another big advantage is that the support from the organizations IT staff remains the same. They're able to use Mobile Device Management software to remotely push data to the devices and set very distinct restrictions on them.

Croft stated that the major advantage he sees is "the importance of the real-time aspect" it presents. Every week a team will change their game plan and even alter their playbook. Using tablet devices allows an NFL team to save time and money when rolling out new information to their players. The combination of security and real time capabilities make technology the future in sports organizations. Croft stated that coming from the technology world, it makes sense that sports teams are venturing into using technology further. Technology is the perfect complement for the needs of a professional football organization.

The big fear teams always had when handing out playbooks was security. When a playbook is lost, a teams secrets are exposed. This fear is now gone as teams transition to tablet devices. The Houston Texans are ahead of the curve as they work this upcoming year to transition their organization towards a digital workflow. It only makes sense for more NFL teams to follow this strategy into the future.

Kyle Rapoza is a Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network and has been a lifelong football fan. He also follows technology closely and is very interested in the merger between the two. Follow him on Twitter @kyler11.

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Houston Texans Working to Implement Tablet Devices and Digital Technologies