Tablets to be top SMB technology in 2012, researchers say

Small- and medium-sized businesses are constantly on the lookout for technologies that will improve efficiency and give them a better shot at keeping up with their larger competition. As a result, more of these companies figure to purchase and implement tablets during the coming year to leverage the device's ability to provide anywhere, anytime access to enterprise data and applications.

That was among the findings of the latest SMB Technology Monitor report from research firm the NPD Group. In polling organizations with 1,000 or fewer employees, NPD discovered that 73 percent of them plan to purchase tablets during the next year. The figure is significantly higher than the 68 percent of companies that responded to a similar poll during the second quarter of this year.

The report also found that the largest segment of the SMB category - firms with between 501 and 999 employees - are most likely to purchase tablets, as 88 percent said they will during the next year. Eighty percent of companies with between 50 and 200 employees also said they plan to implement the technology.

Furthermore, 90 percent of all SMBs polled said they have plans to at least increase their spending on tablets in 2012. That suggests that wireless expense management could become another important practice for these organizations next year.

And as tablet expenditures rise, it isn't surprising that the NPD poll found that PC spending will decrease as a result. Researchers didn't distinguish between Windows PCs and Macs, but the report still found that just 36 percent of the smallest firms - 49 or fewer employees - will increase investments on such computers. At 23 percent, the figure is even lower for the largest segment, terms of employees, of the SMBs polled.

But the NPD Group isn't the first to recognize the importance or popularity of tablets among the nation's smallest companies. Earlier this month, ZDNet contributor Heather Clancy named what she believed were the top technologies for startups and small companies next year. Tablets will be among the most important, she said.

"Suffice to say, I believe that solutions using Apple iPad devices and the various Android tablets will prove compelling in 2012," she wrote.

To deploy the devices as effectively and properly as possible, Clancy recommended that small companies use industry leaders and larger companies as benchmarks.