The iPad is rocking the corporate world. So much so, one analyst describes pent-up demand for tablets in the boardroom as a “corporate explosion.” Apple is the main beneficiary, with more than eight out of 10 tablets used by business bearing the Cupertino, Calif. firm’s logo.
What’s more, interest by corporations in tablets is set to double in the first quarter of 2011, according to a November IT buying survey by ChangeWave Research. The survey found 7 percent of corporations now use tablets, but 14 percent say they will use tablets in the next quarter. As for the iPad, the numbers held good news for Apple versus competitors.
Apple’s iPad had triple the satisfaction rate than competitors. The iPad had 69 percent of business customers who said they were “very satisfied” with their choice, versus 23 percent for HP’s tablet and 12 percent for Dell, according to the survey of 1,651 chief IT buyers. Little wonder, then, 78 percent of companies surveyed said they plan to buy an iPad instead of Apple’s rivals. The nearest competitors, such as Dell and RIM, were in single-digits. Dell and RIM were the choice of just 9 percent of IT buyers looking to purchase a tablet in early 2011. Although Samsung’s Galaxy Tab has garnered much publicity as a possible iPad alternative, the computer maker received the nod from just 4 percent of those responding to the survey.
Most corporation plan to use the iPad to provide employees mobile Internet service and access to e-mail.
The ChangeWave survey comes on the heels of a Goldman Sachs report suggesting the increased interest in tablets will shave more than 19 million netbook sales next year.
