2012 looks to shaping up to be the year of the tablet for small and mid-size businesses with companies planning on spending an average of US$21,482 on the devices. Some 73 percent of companies surveyed in September by NPD said they plan on buying tablets in 2012, up from 68 percent only three months earlier.
NPD considers companies with fewer than 1,000 employees as small or mid-size, according to Fortune.
Businesses ready to buy iPads in 2012
In the under 50 employees range, 54 percent of companies surveyed said they plan on buying tablets in 2012, although they’ll spend on average $1,912. Jumping up to the 510-999 employee range, however, some 89 percent of the companies said they plan to buy tablets, and they’ll spend about $38,749 when they do.
The big winner in business interest in tablets will likely be Apple.
“The iPad, just as it is in the consumer market, is synonymous for ‘Tablet’ in the business market, leaving Apple poised to take advantage of the increased spending intentions of these SMBs,” said NPD’s Stephen Baker. “NPD’s research shows that iPad purchase preference is higher among larger firms than smaller ones, which is an important indicator that Apple is gaining traction far outside its typical consumer space.”
Of course, intending to purchase and actually buying aren’t the same thing, so there’s no guarantee that Apple will see a big revenue boost from SMB sales. With such strong interest, however, it seems likely that small and mid-size businesses will be doing their part boost Apple’s bottom line.