Enterprise is expected to comprise at least a quarter of all tablet sales this year and drive an even greater slice of the market going forward, according to a new report from Deloitte Development LLC.
Just about everyone predicts that tablets are on their way to being a major force to be reckoned with. At the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this month, virtually every major device maker and technology company was showcasing tablets in some form or another.
The market for the new device category is no doubt on the rise. IDC estimates that 17 million tablets were sold last year and predicts that number to grow to 44.6 million tablets by the end of 2011. Gartner Inc. puts last year’s figure at 19.5 million and is projecting tablet sales up to 55 million in 2011.
“Although some commentators view tablets as underpowered media-consumption toys suitable only for consumers… in 2011, more than 25 percent of all tablet computers will be bought by enterprises and that figure is likely to rise in 2012 and beyond,” Deloitte said in its annual sector forecast, according to Reuters.
The firm added that health care and and retail verticals could comprise more than 5 million tablet sales this year alone. Deloitte expects 2011 to be the first year that sales of personal computers represent less than half of the total computing device market. Combined, smart phones and tablets, will be driving more than half of all sales.
Enterprise to drive tablet sales in 2011
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