The Pending Business Role of Tablets

One of the more interesting questions today is whether tablets like the iPad are just a flash in the pan, a short-term fad, or whether they will assume a serious role in the business world.

So far, corporations have been buying iPads for their personnel, although they are not yet the majority. Those who have not cite various reasons.

"In a recent InformationWeek Analytics survey of 551 business technology professionals, the top four barriers cited to using tablets (in lieu of notebooks) were lack of enterprise apps (38%), security concerns (34%), the lack of a physical keyboard (23%), and inadequate or expensive management software (21%).

But then, the iPad is only a year old, so it is understandable that enterprise apps would not be plentiful yet. In any event, software developers have a history of waiting until a clear market emerges before committing their resources.

Tablets stand somewhere between laptops and smartphones in terms of usefulness and functionality. Laptops (read also notebooks) have replaced the desktop computer. Smartphones have moved up from telephones to very portable computing and internet access devices. Laptops have the power to do very complex computing tasks. Smartphones have the ability to quickly access information on the internet and also to store basic documents. In between is a large gap, where tablets reside.

The lack of a physical keyboard is restrictive to their use. Physical keyboards are tactile and comfortable and less prone to error. For some it is just a case of getting used to the virtual keyboard, but for many others, it is a non-starter.

While tablets lack the power and capacity of laptops, they do offer up greater mobility. Going to a meeting or someone's presentation and opening up a laptop has always been a little awkward. But there are situations where having a computer handy during those events is very handy and useful. Smartphones often don't offer enough power, so tablets offer a reasonable solution. They are instantly on and it is easy to pull one out and place it on a desk or table and quietly use it without standing out as insensitive or inattentive. For short meetings, they also offer a viable approach.

Tablets are also more portable and therefore offer better mobility than laptops. And mobility is a major factor in the modern workforce. It's the simple reason why some companies have jumped into them already. Future versions of tablets will offer improvement in this regard. For example, the new Playbook from RIM will be a bit smaller than the iPad - small enough to fit into a large pocket - something the iPad can't do. That's huge. also, the power of tablets is bound to grow as they develop.

It seems reasonable to conclude that tablets will become a major force in corporate information systems. Specific applications - from CRM to BI to eProcurement - will be developed for personnel who need to do their jobs on the move, out in the field. They will avoid the need to drag out laptops and boot them up and at the same time will offer up much more power than smartphones.

For an article in this topic, and the source of the above quote, check out this link.