According to the latest data and corresponding projections out of Australia, tablet adoption in the enterprise sector is growing at a quickened pace. And the proportion of Australian businesses using tablet computers is only forecast to increase further in the next twelve months.
A new report from Australia’s Roy Morgan research indicates that at the end of 2012, 23 percent of Australian businesses were using tablet computers. But the number of tablets in use by businesses is likely to increase by more than 50% over the next 12 months, with most of the sales likely to be to either Micro businesses with less than 5 employees, or large businesses (those with more than 200 employees).
Different industries also have widely differing rates of intending to take up tablet computers, – Information, Media and Technology businesses the most likely to buy or replace tablets in the next 12 months (21%), followed by Wholesale Trade businesses (18%) Education and training businesses (17%) and Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (17%), all among the highest growth industries for tablets.
“While Apple’s iPad has clearly been the leading consumer tablet to date, there are reasons to doubt that it will maintain its dominant position as tablet usage extends into the business market,” says Nigel Smith, Director of Business Research at Roy Morgan Research – the largest independent Australian research company.
“Microsoft, Google, Samsung and Blackberry are all developing products to compete in this space, and with the current rate of growth in the market, any one of them may develop the combination of productivity applications, price and ease of use that either displaces Apple as the tablet market leader, or Microsoft as the office software market leader. Or possibly both. The business tablet market is Apple’s to lose,” Smith concludes.
