Global CIO: iPad Becoming Kingmaker For Enterprise Apps
iPad's success in business market underscores critical need for competitors to match soaring downloads of iPad-ready enterprise apps.
From a New York Times article: "The software maker Salesforce.com said its Chatter iPad app, which lets users gain access to data from corporate software programs, had been downloaded more than a million times. Marc Benioff, the chief executive of Salesforce, said Chatter was being used in more than 60,000 businesses.
"Of course, I still have a PC," Mr. Benioff said. "But I am using it less and less and I am using my iPad more." He called 2011 "the year of the tablet" and added: "If you call me next year, I will say it is also the year of the tablet. And if you call me in 2013, I'll tell you it's going to be the year of the tablet."
Those two examples should not be mistaken for aberrations, say two big IT industry research firms; rather, they exemplify the absolutely phenomenal growth that's expected in the mobile-app space. Check out these numbers from a recent post on seekingalpha.com:
"As I mentioned in a recent column, the global app market topped $2 billion last year. Astonishingly, Gartner, Inc. expects the market to generate $15.1 billion in revenue in 2011… $27 billion by 2013… and north of $35 billion by 2014, according to International Data Corporation."
One more perspective, this one from an International Business Times article about how a noted IT analyst believes the iPad is pushing some CIOs to consider new IT purchasing models:
"We continue to view Apple as the clear beneficiary in our sector of paradigm shift in computing toward mobile devices with the iPad and the iPhone. We believe consumers are increasingly buying more laptops, tablets and handheld devices and 'logging in' to apps and corporate networks," said Ben Reitzes, an analyst at Barclays Capital. Reitzes said this trend should mean that the key to corporate success over the long term is being strong in consumer devices that you use everyday. As a result, the purchase pattern is shifting toward laptops, tablets and smart phones being bought by consumers (all key areas of Apple’s strength), while direct sales of corporate products have shorter and smaller upgrade cycles. (End of excerpt.)
At a time when all businesses are looking to make employees more productive and aware of corporate priorities, and when speed of analysis and execution is becoming increasingly vital, CIOs need to get out in front of this application wave that will sweep the Pad and probably some of its competitors into the heart of the enterprise.
RECOMMENDED READING: Global CIO: Apple iOS Crushes Google Android In Enterprise Global CIO: HP Calls Out Apple In Quest To Be Coolest Of All Global CIO: Sam Palmisano And Larry Ellison Deserve Their Big Paydays Global CIO: Global CIO: Top 10 Reasons Steve Jobs & Apple Are The Future Of IT Global CIO: Global CIO: The Awesome Transformative Power Of The Apple iPad Global CIO: Global CIO: Apple Storms The Enterprise As iPad And iPhone Surge Global CIO: Apple Hammers Google Over Tablet Flaws Global CIO: The PC Is Dying; Long Live The iPad! Global CIO: The Year Of iPad: Apple Booms In Business And In China Global CIO: Global CIO: Inside Steve Jobs' Head: The Supremacy Of Software Global CIO: Global CIO: The Top 10 Most Influential IT Vendors (Apple And Facebook?) Global CIO: Global CIO: Steve Jobs Declares War On Google Global CIO: Global CIO: Apple's Steve Jobs Torpedoes Another Stale Business Model Global CIO: Steve Jobs Creating New-Age Broadcasting Network? Global CIO: Global CIO: Why Apple's iPad Will Be A Great Business Device Global CIO: Global CIO: Is IBM Or Apple The World's #1 Tech Brand? Bob Evans is senior VP and director of InformationWeek's Global CIO unit.
To find out more about Bob Evans, please visit his page.
For more Global CIO perspectives, check out Global CIO,
or write to Bob at [email protected].
About the Author
You May Also Like
2024 InformationWeek US IT Salary Report
Aug 15, 20242024 InformationWeek US IT Salary Report
May 29, 20242022 State of ITOps and SecOps
Jun 21, 2022