Android Tablets Making Big Gains in the Workplace - Midsize Insider

While tablet devices running the Android OS have slowly been taking consumer market share away from the iPad over the past year, mostly due to lower price points on a number of models, that same shift in share hasn't been all that present in enterprise environments. Now, a new survey sheds some light on the changing opinion of IT professionals and shows how Android tablets may be poised for an IT takeover.

Android in the Workplace

A new study from IDG Connect asked 3,124 IT and business professionals from around the world about their current tablet situation and likely upcoming tablet purchases. The results confirmed existing views on the iPad's current domination in the business space, but held some interesting points about how that might be about to change.

According to the IDG Connect press release, available on The Wall Street Journal website, 71 percent of respondents had a tablet of some kind, with 51 percent of those having an iPad and the rest split between Android and BlackBerry tablets. However, first-time buyers who expect to pick up a tablet in the next year resoundingly claim to want an Android tablet.

A full 44 percent of prospective first-time buyers have decided on getting an Android tablet, with just 27 percent getting an iPad and 3 percent choosing the upcoming Windows 8 tablets. These numbers are expected to change a little in the upcoming months when the marketing push for Windows 8 tablets begins in earnest, and it will be telling to see whether an increase in Windows 8 desirability affects Apple or Google more.

Preference for Android tablets is highest in Europe (49%) and Africa (44%), and lowest in North America (30%) and Australia (35%). No insight was given into the reasons for the geographical split, although a difference of 20 percentage points speaks to something much stronger than statistical noise.

It's not all bad news out there for Apple, as an IDC report estimates that iPad shipments will continue to grow over the next few years and that the iPad's market share will increase, as detailed in this ITPro article. The report seems to fly in the face of the survey results, but IDC factored in potential releases, like a rumored tablet product from Apple that will cost under $300, into their equation.

A Healthy Balance

The explosion of the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) movement over the past year has led to an extraordinary amount of business computing getting done on tablet devices. While security issues continue to linger with tablets and smartphones, at this point there is really no going back. Tablets will soon be required for many jobs, including most positions within IT.

For midsize businesses, IT managers looking to invest in tablets for their employees, the worst thing that could happen is a market monopoly. The growth of Android tablets in the workplace, despite adding an additional layer of complexity to mobile computing, provide everyone in the industry with a reason to keep innovation high and prices low. Should tablet market share even out between Apple and Google, and perhaps become more even with the inclusion of Windows 8, companies who need powerful tablet computing on a slim budget will reap the benefits.

Still, a single survey does not a movement make, and both Apple and Microsoft have some interesting potential releases coming out later this year that could change things considerably. However, as it stand now the IT world will benefit from the increased parity between iOS and Android tablets.

This post was written as part of the IBM for Midsize Business program, which provides midsize businesses with the tools, expertise and solutions they need to become engines of a smarter planet. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.