According to a recent research from EE, tablets will replace laptops in the workplace within the next 10 years. A number of corporations are already using tablets for a wide range of business processes, leading to reduced paper work, increased efficiencies, lower operational costs and a more mobile and empowered workforce. Today, product demonstrations can be conducted anywhere, store content can be browsed without customers having to wade through aisles of merchandise and feedback from hundreds of users can be collected, analyzed and reported with a few taps on the mobile screen.
While tablets are already assisting enterprises across a number of job functions, laptops are still the mainstay of today's business operations and management. There is however a gradual shift in these areas where the tablet is slowly replacing laptops. This shift is driven to a certain extent by users' personal preferences, mainly due to the portability of a tablet and its form factor, being much lighter, slimmer and easier to store and manage.
Some Really Strong Use Cases
Most people will agree that the en masse adoption of tablets by users worldwide is a resultant of the 'familiarity factor' as the bulk of tablets shipped over the past years were offered by smartphone makers - Apple, Samsung, LG, Huawei and Lenovo, which means that they boast the same operating systems and hence user interface which most users were already familiar with and are accustomed to, and saw users continuing their phone 'experiences' onto larger screens. But the most important factor, perhaps, that saw tablets gaining a strong foothold in the mobile device market is their proposition across a large number of very real use-cases - as digital toys to keep children occupied, as sketchbooks for writers and authors to pen down content, as mini TV screens that allowed users to watch an entire movie, as digital cameras that showed every image big and clear, as presentation boards in meetings, and so on.
Samsung Tablet S 10.5 inch
Tablet-Plans With Native Voice Service
Mobile Operators have since rolled out various tablet-specific plans, known as tablet-plans, packaged in 24 month installments and bundled with data and the tablet of the customer's choice. The mobile data quota provided by data only SIMs were the most popular plans for tablets, and at higher data buckets gave users plenty of data when they are out and about. Built-in Wi-Fi connectivity on the other hand allowed unlimited access to data when users are within their office, home or third party free Wi-Fi hotspots, allowing them to take advantage of multi-screen content plans on their IPTV service or OTT TV subscriptions.
Mobile data provided by tablet-plans also enabled users to use these devices for communication via applications such as Skype, Google Voice and Whats App. Last year, Operators such as Freedom Pop in the US pioneered Voice Over IP offering on tablets, bundling voice minutes and SMSs with mobile data. The voice and messaging service enabled users to use their tablets' native apps to communicate with each other using phone numbers allotted by their Mobile Operators. At the same time, some tablet makers started introducing tablets that cater for voice SIMs, for example the Lenovo A1000 and Asus Fonepad 7 Dual SIM, which means that instead of carrying a phone and a tablet, users can just access all three services - voice, messaging and data - in a single gadget. And over the next year or so, built-in VoLTE and Wi-Fi Calling capabilities will be seeing more of such all-in-one devices debuting in the market place.
ASUS Fonepad 7 Dual SIM
Tablets vs Smartphones: The War That Never Happened
There are always on-going discussions on smartphones and tablets competing for a bigger share in the mobile device market. While some customers may opt one device over the other, the tablet serves a market that is much larger than that is served by the smartphone. Competition, if any, is between the tablet and the traditional means of managing various workloads in social organizations and businesses, where the tablet, by facilitating a growing number of people across their jobs - from helping teachers with their teaching to enabling store managers to simulate and show visitors how the selected kitchen cabinet will look in a particular type of wood finishing - is slowly taking over computers, laptops, printers, papers, manual procedures and brick-and-mortar set-ups in the workplace.
The use of the tablet as an intelligent computer and therefore the ultimate modern work tool, among others, is evident from other findings in EE's survey including the fact that 30% of tablet owners are keeping their devices for more than 3 years, alluding to the idea of tablets as work tools (comparable to laptops), rather than pure communication and entertainment devices, a role fulfilled perfectly by smartphones. If this were not enough, maybe the thriving business enjoyed by the makers of keyboard applications for tablets such as Android and iPhone is an indicator of how the tablet is quickly transforming into a productive tool.
Leading keyboard application, SwiftKey, illustrated here for use on iPad
EE Extends its Tablet Plans to 3 Years
EE in the release of its survey findings said that it is launching UK's first 36-month tablet plan, complementing its 24-month plans to focus on the needs of small businesses. The Operator also offers its Canvas smart form apps, which allows users to migrate their paper work from manual to digital and expedite various processes across the enterprise's value chain. EE shared the case study of Sunsail, a global yatching charter company, on how the business has benefited from the use of tablets and how EE's tablet plans are accelerating the adoption of tablets across its workforce.
Samsung Tablet S 10.5 inch
Mike Tomlinson, Director of Small Business at EE
Our research clearly shows that businesses are mobilising their workforces, and that tablets are rapidly becoming the primary device of choice. Sunsail are a great example of a business going one step further with 4GEE tablets from EE and the Canvas smart forms app to become even more productive and efficient.
Simon Boulding, Director at Sunsail
We’ve used 4G tablets and EE’s smart forms bundle with Canvas to improve the way we work, replacing our old paper-based forms and manual procedures for everything from customer relations and performing checks on our boats as they come in and go out. Since introducing tablets into the business, we’ve seen a 60% increase in customer engagement and we predict we will save over £10,000 per year on labour and direct costs – directly benefiting our bottom line. At Sunsail we constantly strive to increase efficiency and sustainability, and EE has been an invaluable partner in our journey.
Time to Ramp Up Those BYOD Offers
As for the tablet market, based on figures from research company IDC, around 230 million tablets were shipped last year with this year expected to see a shipment of another 212 million units. The tablet market is expected to remain strong over the coming years as players continue introducing newer technologies such as voice enablement, as multi-screen content offers continue to grow and as prices continue to fall and more entrants, especially lower cost brands start entering the market. These trends will enhance the tablet's proposition as the digital work tool, and this will lead to more enterprises leveraging these devices as part of their mobility and productivity solutions.
Taking cue from EE, Mobile Operators can start looking into beefing up their Bring Your Own Device offerings for their enterprise clients with more innovative tablet bundles that include data, native voice and messaging as well as highly specialized content packs, all bundled on longer term contracts and group discounts as means to tap into the growing market for the connected digital workplace.
