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Tablets become standard IT offering

Admire Moyo
By Admire Moyo, ITWeb's news editor.
Johannesburg, 30 Oct 2014
Tablets are no longer perceived as personal toys; but rather as value-adding business tools, says Dell.
Tablets are no longer perceived as personal toys; but rather as value-adding business tools, says Dell.

Tablets are now a standard part of the IT offering in many organisations.

This is one of the biggest findings from Dell's 2014 International Tablet Survey of IT decision-makers, which reveals tablets are no longer perceived as personal toys; but rather as value-adding business tools.

The survey involved IT decision-makers in 10 countries, and was designed to provide insights and feedback regarding tablet usage in the workplace. According to Dell, current implementations of tablets in the workplace are good for business, increasing mobility and productivity, while getting a favourable reception from employees.

At least nine in 10 IT decision-makers in all countries except Japan (83%), report tablets are a standard part of their company's IT offering, or currently under evaluation, and/or they allow employees to use their own tablets.

Majorities in China (82%), UAE/Saudi Arabia (74%1), US (73%), Brazil (73%), UK (68%), France (61%) India (59%), and Russia (51%) say it is a standard part of their IT device offering. More than half in Russia (58%), India (57%), China (52%), and US (51%) allow employees to use tablets purchased with their own money, while at least half in China (59%), US (53%) and India (50%) allow employees to use their own tablets purchased with the help of company funds.

The survey also discovered tablets are being met with favourable inputs from employees. In all countries except India (85%), at least nine in 10 IT decision makers whose company offers tablets as a standard offering received input from other employees in favour of using tablets prior to their company beginning use.

In US (58%), UK (58%), India (56%), Japan (56%), Brazil (68%), UAE/Saudi Arabia (63%), and SA (22 of 32 surveyed), this input was consistently in favour of tablet adoption, says Dell. In all countries, it adds, the majority of IT decision-makers in organisations where tablets are not offered or under evaluation, report they have received employee input in favour of using tablets for work.

"How people work is changing - the days of going to a specific place to conduct business are fewer, while more employees are on the move and require access to company information outside of the workplace," says Boitumelo Kgonare, client product marketing manager at Dell SA.

"The Dell 2014 International Tablet survey underscores the way in which tablets are addressing those needs for today's worker, resulting in a desire by IT decision-makers to deploy more tablets in the future."

The survey also found tablet adoption has increased productivity. In most countries, a majority of IT decision-makers who acknowledge tablet adoption has increased their company's productivity, say it has done so by making it easier to work while travelling, allowing better customer service, providing faster or more convenient access to information while out of the office or in the field, or allowing real-time entry of information to reduce duplicated work, says Dell.

However, security is a top concern for tablet usage. Among IT decision-makers at organisations not currently offering or evaluating the use of tablets, a majority in the US (54%), India (67%), Japan (51%), China (15 of 28 surveyed), and France (53%) cite data security or other security concerns (eg loss, theft) as reasons for not deploying tablets.

Twenty-one of 48 surveyed in the UK and 42% in Russia mention this as a concern. In each of these countries, data security is the top reason mentioned.

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