The first few weeks into 2012 and the web seems to be already buzzing with tablet PC fever! It seems the business professionals are leaving their laptops at home and instead, giving the thumbs up to ultra portability and fast net access while their fingers are on the pulse of mobile apps and instant large screen display!
By the closing months of 2011, sales of tablet PCs had jumped by an impressive 261 per cent to just over 63 million units according to Gartner, IT industry advisors, who forecast that by 2016 sales will reach 900 million!
Handheld computers are no longer seen simply as a way of watching videos or playing games on a device “larger than a mobile phone screen without the hassle of carrying a laptop”. In 2012, an UMPC is brought to the workplace to be used on mission critical business applications, from client-facing meetings and distribution of marketing materials.
Latest figures from a survey, which included UK executives and IT managers, found that just over 20 per cent of senior executives are given a tablet PC to use at in their place of work.
Gartner list the following top business applications for the tablet PC :
Business Data: Analytical and performance intelligence, with management dashboards.
Sales: Customer and ordering automation systems and sales presentations.
Collaboration Tools: Applications for meetings and events.
Files and Utilities: Sharing and document distribution.
Business Processes: General corporate /government / enterprise applications for CRM, ERP, SCM and messaging.
Email: Filtered email separating corporate messaging environments from personal email.
Healthcare: Medical support systems for doctors, nurses, and physical therapists.
Virtualisation: Hosted virtual desktop providing secure remote function of traditional desktop applications and environments.
Social Networking: Applications with intelligent business insight.
Documentation: Board books for secure document and report distribution.
Undoubtedly, a much larger lightweight, portable screen providing the more immersive experience is a key benefit to wider areas of enterprise and service in the field. In both private and public sectors, the durability of a rugged tablet PC is crucial to industries such as manufacturing, retail distribution and construction.
Cisco Systems, the global communications technology multinational state "Mobile workers and virtual workspaces are here to stay. But so are the demands on IT to continue to ensure enterprise-grade security, manageability and interoperability”.
Companies who are progressive in continuing to explore and invest in the benefits of mobile technologies are best placed to take advantage of the next wave of business growth and opportunity. Currently, around 74 per cent of IT managers consider email and document-sharing as essential in a mobile device, such as a tablet PC.
While the handheld PC may be seen as adding another device to the diverse mobile internet market, all running different operating systems, Google recently claimed that over 40 per cent of users spend more time with their tablet PC than with their desktop or laptop. Furthermore, Forrester Research predicts that during 2012, tablet PC sales will begin to overtake notebooks.