Strong adoption of tablets by mobile workers: Survey

Declining preference for laptops

More than one-quarter (27 per cent) of mobile employees worldwide are using a tablet, typically an iPad, for work, found a survey by iPass, a provider of enterprise mobility services.

While most mobile employees think in the next five years there will be just one ultimate device, that same mobile employee is carrying 2.68 devices for work today, found the quarterly Mobile Workforce Report.

"Tablet and smartphone use in the enterprise is being driven by the growth of cloud-based applications, in addition to the availability of these devices being reasonably priced," said Steven Wastie, senior vice-president of marketing and product management at iPass. "User experience and economics drive this mobile ‘stack’ phenomenon which shows every sign of expanding rapidly amongst the ‘mobilocracy’ — a powerful class of worker who relies on mobile devices for greater productivity — as cloud computing finds a greater foothold with users both on a professional and personal level."

There has also been a 10-per-cent decline in preference for laptops as mobile employees increasingly prefer smartphones and tablets. One-fifth of mobile workers also selected a tablet as their one device of choice, while 49 per cent selected the smartphone (down from 63 per cent in 2010), compared to 27 per cent who prefer a laptop (down from 37 per cent).

Almost two-thirds (65 per cent) of mobile workers use a tablet for applications such as sending and receiving email, surfing the Internet, watching video content and reading electronic books, newspapers and magazines, said iPass.

Interestingly, people aged 35 and older said they feel more productive working outside of the office, compared to those 34 and under who feel most productive working in the office, found the survey.

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