Employee tablet ownership booms

Some 17.6 per cent of staff have already been provided with a work tablet, according to Ovum

Tablet deployments among businesses is booming, according to analyst Ovum, whose new report claims 17.6 per cent of staff have already been given a tablet for work - up from 12.5 per cent last year.

According to its Challenges and Best Practices for Developing Tablets in the Enterprise report, Ovum said that of those it surveyed who already owned a personal tablet, 66.7 per cent used that device in work. Last year, only 28.4 per cent of people owned a tablet, its research found, a figure which rocketed to 44.5 per cent this year.

"Even given the immaturity of the platform, tablet usage is fast becoming common practice in the enterprise, whether through BYOD or corporate provisioning," said Ovum analyst and report author Richard Absalom.

"The first step to a successful tablet deployment is to understand employee behaviour and activity. Employees are using multiple devices to access corporate data and content, and any tablet or mobility strategy must be set in this context."

The analyst warned of heightened security risks coming about in light of the high tablet penetration within businesses, and said the benefits gained from providing the technology can be quickly offset if security is breached.

The report comes as retail giant John Lewis unveiled a string of tablets in its list of predicted best-selling gadgets this Christmas.

It told the Telegrah that Apple's iPad Mini topped the list, with Samsung's Tab 3 device and Google's Nexus offering coming in third and fourth respectively. The firm expects to sell one tablet every fifteen seconds over the Christmas period as consumers choose the festive time to upgrade their current models.