2012: The year of the tablet for small businesses

Since the iPad was launched in 2010 tablet computers have taken the consumer market by storm and large businesses didn’t take long to catch on. With the technology becoming both more advanced and more affordable, it looks like 2012 will be the year small businesses embrace the tablet.

In November 2011, a study of IT adoption trends among UK SMEs (small to medium businesses) revealed that 37 per cent were already using tablet computers. A further 37 per cent said they were planning to purchase them. So small businesses are jumping onto the tablet bandwagon, but are they right for your business?

Why choose a tablet for business?

The real beauty of tablet computers is their portability. Their smart design, integrating all the functionality into one neat, light panel, makes them ideal for use on the move.

Where they really come into their own is running presentations or referring to spreadsheets, websites or designs when visiting a client site. You can take notes using a stylus or digital pen and in some cases even convert your handwriting into type.

With the price of tablet computers now roughly comparable to laptops, their appeal to small businesses is growing.

But how do tablets really compare to laptops?

Tablets’ intuitive touch screen interface makes them fun to use, however their processing power gives laptops the edge in terms of performance. Browsing the web on a tablet is typically a bit slower than on a laptop, they can struggle with multitasking and typing may feel sluggish.

Typing on-screen is also awkward and could even be harmful. Back pain therapist Diksha Chakravarti warns, “Gadget-related aches and pains can become chronic, even leading to job losses, so it’s important to keep them at bay. It’s best to avoid typing for any length of time directly on a tablet computer — it’s better to use a peripheral keyboard and stand, and remember to take regular breaks to stretch.”

A real bonus is that tablet computers typically boast battery life more than twice as long as laptops’. This is partly due to the lower power demands created by using solid state storage rather than a conventional hard drive. The down side of this is that tablets can store fewer files than a laptop, however using cloud-based storage can make up the shortfall.

Business tablet use and the cloud

Tablets and cloud computing are a natural partnership. The touch screen lends itself well to navigating web-based applications and there are several other benefits too.

“Using cloud-based applications on a tablet is a particularly attractive option,” comments Jonathan Edwards, MD of IT support company Integral. “There’s a host of business applications available on a software as a service basis. Being hosted online rather than on the machine itself means you don’t need to worry about overloading your tablet’s capacity. It also provides additional security protection. If your mobile device is lost or stolen you won’t need to worry about anyone else accessing your cloud-based data.”

Should you invest in a tablet for business?

If you currently use a laptop as your main computer, replacing it with a tablet is probably not a good idea. However if you mainly work on a desktop, investing in a tablet to take out and about will increase your productivity, especially used in combination with the right cloud-based applications.

Jonathan Edwards concludes, “Tablet computers coupled with cloud computing give SMEs the opportunity to be more flexible, more secure and to benefit from a pay-as you-go IT set-up. A definite trend to look out for in 2012.”