Tablets might not do everything that computers can do, but a new study by IDC analysts has revealed an increasing demand for tablets in the business world.
Demand is up by 60 percent,a sharp contrast to what’s happening on the consumer side where the market has actually decreased by 10.5 percent.
IDC blames “sluggish consumer demand” because people are using their tablets far beyond their expected life spans. The number of tablets sold to businesses, however, increased from 1 million to 1.6 million since Q1 last year.
The trend towards tablets in the business space is led primarily by France, the UK, Germany, and Nordic countries with the rest of Western Europe predicted to follow suit. Hybrid tablets like the Microsoft Surface, HP Envy X2, and Asus Transformer Book T100 are also increasingly popular with businesses, although they take a very small market share.
The IDC findings are in keeping with the way things have been looking over recent years. In 2012, the New York Times predicted that millions of tablets would be used in America’s workplaces by 2015. A 2012 Small Business Authority market sentiment survey, which included 1100 business owners, found that 55 percent of all business owners see themselves using tablets in the future, with 28 percent of them already using one. Close to half of survey respondents said that a tablet would be the next piece of technology they buy.
Phablets are another technology on the rise. Somewhere between a smartphone and a tablet, they provide the functionality of a tablet but are small enough to fit in your pocket. Market share for phablets has increased 150 percent year over year. That growth rate outpaces tablets and smartphones, making them the fastest growing mobile device in 2014.
What’s so appealing about tablets?
There are many key uses for tablets that make them so attractive for business. They’re great for doing presentations and setting up booths at trade shows. Due to their small size and light weight they’re highly portable and easier to transport than a laptop. Going into a meeting and doing a presentation with a tablet could also give you that cutting-edge look as opposed to using an outdated laptop, or providing handouts.
Tablets can also boost productivity. They can run apps that assist with business tasks such as data entry, and they’re better for typing emails and reading documents than phones thanks to their larger screen size.
The upcoming release of Windows 10 could help resolve any integration issues that many business might currently have with adopting tablets into their operations. It might not be long until we all find ourselves including tablets in our briefcases when we head to work in the morning.
Photo via phtab.com
