ABi (Anything But iPad) Business Tablets Face An Uphill Slog In 2011

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No need to revisit the success of iPad. The millions of units sold since April speaks for itself. While most of these have been purchased at retail, many buyers use their tablets for work, often sponsored or supported by an enlightened IT organization. 2011 will be a big year for iPad in the enterprise.

But what about the countless number of tablets from other manufacturers? These anything-but-iPad (ABi) tablets promise enticing characteristics that Content & Collaboration professionals cherish, things like Flash media support, enterprise app stores, and sometimes greatly enhanced security (as RIM's Playbook will have) or deep links to the unified communications infrastructure (as Cisco's Cius will have) or full Microsoft Office support (as HP's Slate will have).

How will these ABi tablets fare in the enterprise in 2011? Fair to partly cloudy, I fear. Three gating factors will slow enterprise adoption:

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• collaboration
• iPad
• smart devices
• tablets

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