It is hard to believe, but back when the iPad was released in 2010, there were conversations as to whether or not it would be a flop. The smartphone market was booming and laptops had already established themselves the portable computing device of choice, so what role was there for a "larger iPhone?"
As we have seen over the last three years, the tablet has carved out a major piece of the computing market. Apple unveiled its latest tablet line last week and now more businesses will be considering an iPad deployment. In some cases this could be happening instead of upgrading the office PC.
According to a report from Gartner, tablet shipments are projected to increase 53.4 percent year-over-year. PCs shipments, by comparison, will drop 11.2 percent in 2013. On top of that, overall sales numbers of tablets, smartphones and PCs are expected to increase 4.5 percent.
"While consumers will be bombarded with ads for the new ultramobile devices, we expect their attention to be grabbed but not necessarily their money," said Carolina Milanesi, research vice president at Gartner, in a statement. "Continuing on the trend we saw last year, we expect this holiday season to be all about smaller tablets as even the long-term holiday favorite — the smartphone — loses its appeal."
The iPad helped create a new market that is playing a major role in the business sector. However, not every business knows how to optimize these devices and ensure their current infrastructure can support mobility. An IT consulting firm that specializes in tablet deployments can become a valuable resource for any company.
