Tablet Use Among SMBs Approaches Smartphone Levels

Users are in the middle of a mass migration, but the good news is that they don’t need visas or green cards to shift from the desktop to mobile. Smartphones have been entrenched in the enterprise for some time, but tablets are quickly catching up.

According to data from the State of SMB IT 2H 2012 report, which tracks IT spending in the second half of 2012, 53 percent of IT professionals say their companies support tablets. Smartphones enjoy a 59-percent adoption rate. Considering that tablets blossomed in 2010, it's safe to say that tablets have enjoyed a lightning-fast tablet adoption in the enterprise.

The investment in tablets by businesses is best demonstrated in the budget. According to Spiceworks’ data, 38 percent of IT pros say they will be spending purchasing dollars on tablets in the second half of 2012. This is an 8 percent increase from the first half of the year.

When it comes to Android versus iOS tablets, the bulk of Android tablets made their way into the company as the result of a bring-your-own-device policy, with 79 percent of IT pros saying their Android tablets were purchases of their own choosing. The iPad remained the most popular tablet, with 85 percent of IT pros using company-issued Apple tablets.

With tablets making their way to healthcare clinics, football teams and law firms, all signs point to continued growth in tablet adoption by businesses of all stripes. The mobile computing era is waiting for no one.