Tablet sellers could be in for a reprieve amidst their declining sales, as research reveals that enterprises are expecting to increase their adoption of the devices.
24 percent of workers surveyed by EE had transitioned from laptops to tablets for work purposes, while 31 percent said that laptop usage in the workplace was declining.
In addition, 52 percent believe that tablets are on course to replace laptops in the workplace within 10 years. 36 percent expect this to happen even sooner.
In addition, 30 percent of tablet owners have had their device for over three years, suggesting a tablet lifecycle is more comparable to that of a laptop than a smartphone.
According to IDC, worldwide shipments of tablets and 2-in-1 devices will reach 221.8 million units in 2015, a fall of 3.8% from the previous year.
However, as EE’s research highlights, much of the future growth will come from the enterprise market. Forrester research claims that sales will hit 250 million units by 2018, with the business-owned proportion of the market rising from 14 percent this year to 20 percent in 2018.
Forrester claims that over half of information workers use a tablet for work. While tablet sales are set to slow, Forrester projects that tablet users will increase sharply, from 580 million this year to 782 million in 2018.
Mike Tomlinson, Director of Small Business at EE, says: "Our research clearly shows that businesses are mobilising their workforces, and that tablets are rapidly becoming the primary device of choice."
The EE research surveyed 2000 workers in the UK.
