Tablets will be top technology in 2012, Gartner says

As they have in the past couple of years, tablet computers will remain one of the biggest enterprise IT trends in 2012, according to a report from research firm Gartner.

Gartner's findings, which were revealed at the Symposium/ITxpo in Orlando, show that companies using tablets will need to address two primary areas in 2012. The first is deploying the technology to enhance employees' capabilities.

The research firm notes that organizations must consider the tablet's implications for social, business and financial strategies, as well as risk management. Tablets, still relatively new to the workplace, will disrupt many of the company's current practices, but some will find this disruption to have a positive effect.

The second area companies must address, Gartner says, is the "business to customer scenario," through which an organization uses tablets to engage consumers and its clients. This may entail redesigning a company website for mobile technology, introducing tablet-friendly social networks or launching a corporate app, among other measures that take advantage of the tablet's popularity.

A February 2011 study from hiring firm Robert Half Technology finds that nearly half of surveyed companies plan to introduce tablets in the future. As the technology becomes more popular, their applications in the workplace will continue to expand accordingly.