Top tablet apps for businesses

Mobile applications that help companies manage and secure enterprise programs and support major business initiatives are among the top tablet software demands for commercial organizations, according to research firm Gartner.

Speaking at the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo in Australia, Gartner vice president David Willis noted that enterprise tablet apps have moved beyond the focus of personal productivity. Now, companies are looking for software that enables them to generate revenue, use data more effectively and improve operations across the business.

Among the top tablet application categories for businesses are sales automation, business intelligence and analytics, collaboration, hosted virtual desktops and others, Gartner asserts.

Tablets are also being distributed among a wider range of industries. Gartner estimates that 63.6 million tablet computers will be sold in 2011. Verticals in which tablet adoption is expected to find support include healthcare, sales, construction and restaurants, to name a few.

The tablet is quickly gaining ground in the enterprise, as more companies are issuing the technology through pilot programs as well as wide-scale deployments. According to a May 2011 study from Dimensional Research, more than three-quarters of companies plan to have tablets in place by the end of 2013.