SME tablet adoption surges

[EMBEDDDEDTablet adoption among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) worldwide is gaining momentum although adoption rate is currently low and highly fragmented across industries, according to a new report, writes ZDNet.

An AMI-Partners report released last week stated that worldwide tablet penetration among SMEs is at 3% and there is a long way to go before the device becomes a mainstream IT asset.

The research firm defined SMEs as firms with less than 999 employees. Additionally, tablet device penetration is 'highly fragmented' across industries, with healthcare, hospitality, professional services and media sectors showing the most interest in utilising the device form factor today, it noted.

AMI's research also indicated that as the mobile workforce trend continues, mobile devices including tablet PCs will play an integral part in supporting these employees, reports eWeek.

"SME tablet adoption has been highly fragmented across industries," Michael McDonald, senior associate of worldwide SME sizing for AMI-Partners, said.

"We see the strongest interest in professional services, healthcare, hospitality and the media businesses. The early adopters realise the intrinsic value in having a highly mobile device that enables users to immediately access data, process information and respond accordingly."

InformationWeek notes that McDonald, who led AMI's recent tablet research, doesn't see the devices as a near-term threat to desktops or laptops in the workplace.

"It's absolutely a complementary device," he said. "I would compare it more closely to a smartphone." McDonald said that, at current prices, it's unlikely that tablets will be widely distributed within SMBs, but rather to select employees such as senior executives, salespeople, and mobile workers.