IT research firm Gartner has predicted that in five years, about half of all major marketing automation vendors will develop applications specifically for Apple’s iPad.
Gartner says that Apple’s iPads are increasingly becoming popular in the workplace, and enterprise vendors are responding accordingly.
Analysts said senior marketing leaders would move to iPads exclusively for their work over the next couple of years. Other personnel will be more likely to buy the tablets themselves in the short term, and to request support before the tablets become corporate standards, said Gartner.
Gartner managing vice-president Kimberly Collins said the initial use of iPads and tablets by marketers will be the extension of existing marketing applications to be supported by the device, either disconnected or connected to the network and home-based application.
Collins added, "By 2014, 65 percent of major marketing automation vendors will extend 25 percent of their functionality to the iPad. MRM [marketing resource management] vendors will lead this charge with adaption of functionality for reviews and approvals. Marketing fulfilment vendors are likely to enable access to content via tablets as well."
According to Collins, the biggest incentive for marketers would be the ability to work remotely while travelling.
"They also have fast access to content and collateral in the field. Cycle times can be greatly reduced, yielding increased staff productivity and decreasing program/campaign costs. Chief marketing officers (CMOs) and creative users will have the biggest need for remote access, followed by campaign managers and designers," said Collins.
Over the next three to five years, next-generation of iPad and tablet usage by marketers for internal tasks will focus on the development of existing or new applications. New marketing vendors may develop iPad-only applications for internal use by marketers.
Gartner said that by 2014, 95% of e-Commerce websites will have a tablet or e-reader presence. However, 40% will fail due to a lack of customer-understanding of their usage.
Gartner research vice-president Gene Alvarez said, "It’s crucial for organisations to understand what type of buying experience is needed by their users for tablet- and e-reader-based sales."
"They will need to determine how many devices they will support, as they will be faced with not only supporting browsers and tablets, but also other mobile customer touchpoints. As a result, an organisation’s analysis of its customer base, and its usage of various different touchpoints are critical to its success in the new mobile world," Alvarez added.
