I've always thought of Multitouch as one of those Windows 7 features that sound cool on paper but have little real-world value--especially in the enterprise.

I may have to rethink my thinking.

Deployed creatively, multitouch can be a huge asset to an organization--like, say, a police department.

The Vernon Hills P.D., for example, recently outfitted patrol cars with custom Windows 7-powered touchscreen PCs that, among other things, allow officers to capture, view, and upload video during traffic stops and other situations.

The system, dubbed Mobile Video Platform (MVP) and developed by Modularis, connects each car's video system to an MVP server (using Windows Azure cloud-computing technology) for video evidence archiving and dissemination.

The MVP hardware runs Windows 7 Enterprise, while the software was built using the .NET Framework. According to Microsoft's case study, "the MVP system integrates with in-vehicle systems such as lights, sirens, brakes, radar, LIDAR, and GPS, as well as mobile CAD and records systems."

So what's the verdict from the boys in blue?

Officers in the Vernon Hills Police Department have found that the MVP touch interface is intuitive and simple to understand, requires very little training, and makes ordinarily complex operations extremely easy for officers in the field.

It just goes to show that a touchscreen interface may seem like a small amenity, but it can help accomplish an important goal: make work easier. Learn more.