ipaduk It’s less than a week to go before the iPad is released in the United States, on April 3. It comes to the UK and other countries later in April.

Even if hardly anyone outside of some mainstream media, app developers and Apple fan blogs has seen the new device yet, desire for it is huge with lots of people saying they’re going to get one no matter what (I’m in that crowd).

While you’d expect the iPad to be an obvious appeal from a broad consumer perspective – think of the popular things people do with apps on an iPhone or iPod Touch and magnify that by a large factor to a device with a comparatively huge screen – it also has big appeal as a device for the workplace.

eWeek Europe reports that in a survey of consumers conducted by enterprise software maker Sybase, one of the questions asked respondents which tasks they would be most likely to perform if they owned a tablet device such as the iPad. More than half (52 percent) said that they’d use it for conducting work, while another 20 percent said they’d use it for business presentations.

Nearly three-quarters of the smartphone users surveyed said they believed smartphones and devices such as the iPad led to greater productivity at work and, overall, expressed a desire for greater access to productivity-enhancing tools.

It’s not all work, though, as the survey also shows just over 48 percent of respondents want to watch movies and other audio-visual content (but which must also include the kind you’d see at work).

sybaseipadsurvey

Among such metrics sits a big issue for organizations which eWeek Europe’s report highlights – IT support:

[…] Analyst Forrester has backed the iPad as an enterprise device, and it has been predicted that users will be asking for iPad support from IT managers when it arrives in April, although many will be unwilling to provide it.

[…] iPhones in the enterprise have been a point of debate for years, with many enterprises, primarily citing security concerns, resisting worker’s calls for IT to support the devices. Will the iPad double the pressure on IT staffs — or finally convince them to support the iPhone OS?

A very good question. I’d imagine that plenty of people will get an iPad, bring it to the workplace and use it for “conducting work on the device,” to quote the Sybase survey report, whether it’s formally supported or not.

It’s coming to the enterprise. That’s a reality and you can’t just ignore it (nor ban it). You need to address it.

If you’re planning on getting an iPad and use it for work, what would you say to your IT manager? And if you’re that IT manager, how would you respond?

You can download a PDF of charts from Sybase including the one you see above.

Related post:

30 responses to “The enterprise iPad is coming”

  1. [Blog] The enterprise iPad is coming http://tinyurl.com/ye96exr #fb #in #ipad

  2. RT @jangles The enterprise iPad is coming http://bit.ly/clbVww <-A great post for IT Managers

  3. Uit onderzoek zou blijken dat 52% vd gebruikers de iPad wil gebruiken voor werk en 20% voor het geven van presentaties http://bit.ly/bdxbPy

  4. Hobson: The enterprise iPad is coming: It’s less than a week to go before the iPad is released in the United State… http://bit.ly/bLlmKk

  5. Robert Scoble: RT @Jas: RT @jangles The enterprise iPad is coming http://bit.ly/clbVww http://bit.ly/bznMcb

  6. topsy_top20k

    [Blog] The enterprise iPad is coming http://tinyurl.com/ye96exr #fb #in #ipad

  7. RT @Jas: RT @jangles The enterprise iPad is coming http://bit.ly/clbVww <-A great post for IT Managers

  8. […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Neville Hobson, Jas Dhaliwal, Computerworld.nl, topsy_top20k_en, topsy_top20k and others. topsy_top20k said: [Blog] The enterprise iPad is coming http://tinyurl.com/ye96exr #fb #in #ipad […]

  9. RT @Jas: RT @jangles The enterprise iPad is coming http://bit.ly/clbVww <-A great post for IT Managers

  10. The enterprise iPad is coming http://j.mp/bwxHFU

  11. I didn't expect these numbers to be so high. The enterprise iPad is coming. http://bit.ly/bxFSYn /cc @browndamon

  12. timesync (Kurt Collins) avatar

    Twitter Comment


    I didn’t expect these numbers to be so high. The enterprise iPad is coming. [link to post] /cc @browndamon

    Posted using Chat Catcher

  13. RT @jangles The enterprise iPad is coming http://bit.ly/clbVww

  14. RT @Jas: RT @jangles The enterprise iPad is coming http://bit.ly/clbVww <-A great post for IT Managers

  15. jedor (Kumar Hsu) avatar

    Twitter Comment


    RT @Jas: RT @jangles The enterprise iPad is coming [link to post] <-A great post for IT Managers – Posted using Chat Catcher

  16. Jas (Jas Dhaliwal) avatar

    Twitter Comment


    RT @jangles The enterprise iPad is coming [link to post] <-A great post for IT Managers – Posted using Chat Catcher

  17. ecritoo (ecritoo) avatar

    Twitter Comment


    Robert Scoble: RT @Jas: RT @jangles The enterprise iPad is coming [link to post] http://bit.ly/bznMcb

    Posted using Chat Catcher

  18. steffenxy (Steffen Ehrhardt) avatar

    Twitter Comment


    RT @jangles The enterprise iPad is coming [link to post]

    Posted using Chat Catcher

  19. Jas: RT @jangles The enterprise iPad is coming http://bit.ly/clbVww &lt;-A great post for IT Managers http://url4.eu/22qeb

  20. amoon66 (Andrew Moon) avatar

    Twitter Comment


    RT @jangles The enterprise iPad is coming [link to post] <-A great post for IT Managers /via @Jas – Posted using Chat Catcher

  21. ooh, yeah. If smone asked me @work how i would use my hypothetical iPad i'd tell them 'for work' as well… http://bit.ly/dkC6nF

  22. ooh, yeah. If smone asked me @work how i would use my hypothetical iPad i'd tell them 'for work' as well… http://bit.ly/dkC6nF

  23. RT @Jas: RT @jangles The enterprise iPad is coming http://bit.ly/clbVww <-A great post for IT Managers

  24. RT @Jas: RT @jangles The enterprise iPad is coming http://bit.ly/clbVww <-A great post for IT Managers

  25. tim jones avatar

    Companies are very reluctant to work with Apple in deploying Apple devices in the enterprise setting. Apple is not very flexible in working with an individual company’s needs, since Apple’s attitude is that, if it’s not the way Apple does things, then it’s the wrong way.

  26. The enterprise iPad is coming http://j.mp/aK1sAx

  27. TwitterReport (News, Status & T) avatar

    Twitter Comment


    The enterprise iPad is coming [link to post]

    Posted using Chat Catcher

  28. […] posted at NevilleHobson.com.) tweetmeme_screen_name = 'jangles'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; Neville Hobson […]

  29. […] posted at NevilleHobson.com.) tweetmeme_screen_name = 'jangles'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; Neville Hobson […]