Small Businesses Own 9 Million Tablets

Small businesses are using 8.9 million tablets, according to Techaisle, surveyed 1,356 small and medium businesses before making its estimate. Techaisle estimates that slightly over half of tablets have been purchased by consumers and used for business purposes.

Surprisingly, given the rather informal way smaller businesses handle information technology decisions, 48 percent of respondents said they already have policies in place regarding tablets.

The Apple iPad, given its early launch, dominates among very-small businesses but Android is making inroads among medium-sized organizations. About 64 percent of respondents say they use only a single operating system.

You might not be surprised that 71 percent of respondents are using tablets as a supplement to existing PCs, rather than as a replacement. Mid-sized organizations, on the other hand, report a greater willingness to replace PCs with tablets.

The survey suggests that lighter notebooks, with better battery life and instant-on capabilities will be seen as direct substitutes for tablets. That is an interesting finding. More than anything else, the instant-on feature, plus longer battery life and light weight seem to be key advantages that business owners and managers seem to clearly understand.

But security, lack of a keyboard and compatibility with the rest of existing software and hardware also seem to be key inhibitors to more-robust tablet adoption.

So far, as you also might expect, initial purchases have been for the use of owners and top managers.

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