Thoughts for business: Ultrabook / dock or desktop / tablet?

[Prosequimur]

I work for a smallish company and though I am predominantly based in one location, I travel fairly regularly for meetings and to conduct basic maintenance. I need a new system and have the luxury of choosing my own set up I would love some thoughts on the best option.

Basically, I am considering either an ultrabook and dock, or desktop and tablet. I am currently leaning towards the desktop and tablet, as that way I have dedicated power at my desk, but saving the most weight and size when on the road. I also want at least three monitors, which will be easier with a desktop than laptop dock.

However, the disadvantage is that it makes it somewhat harder to keep my data and settings accessible from the right place and that most tablets aren't really up to the job of proper working / tech stuff on the road. The Surface Pro looks amazing but I've never used one before, so I'm not really sure if that would work best.

If anyone has any similar experience or input to share, all thoughts are appreciated!

[EndlessWaves]

What sort of workloads are you going to be using it for?

Without knowing how much you'd value a top quality keyboard or the extra power of a desktop it's difficult to know which would suit you best.

[cptwhite_uk]

My default answer would be a i5 based Surface Pro 4 with 256Gb SSD and 8Gb RAM, then a docking station to hook it up to a full size monitor and keyboard when you're in the office.

Depends on your workload though...

[chinf]

If you went down the laptop+dock route, you might find that the flexibility this gives you changes your work patterns such that you'll appreciate having a fairly capable mobile device; this might mean a tablet (even with a half-decent keyboard) isn't the best choice. You mention a desktop giving you dedicated power - what do you want to do with this?

[scaryjim]

What sort of workloads are you going to be using it for? ...

Definitely the correct answer to your question, I'm afraid. Without knowing what you need to do with it there's no sensible way to answer the question. Also, what software do you use? That'll have a big impact on what your device options are.

For instance, if your work use Google Apps then actually you might find a chromebook would be a good option...