Tim Cook Predicts Tablet Dominance as Recipe for Business Success

When Apple CEO Tim Cook sat down for the company's quarterly investors' conference call on Jan 24, 2012, he was certain about the future of the technology manufacturer and its place in the market, especially in the area of tablet dominance. With the Kindle Fire--a $199 tablet option that has many features similar to the iPad--there was some concern among even Apple fans that the company's market share would suffer. So far, iPad2 sales have remained strong, with Apple's CEO convinced that "there will come a day when the tablet market is larger than the PC market." Big words, but could tablets really replace PCs for small and midsize businesses (SMBs)?

Eating PCs for Breakfast

According to a recent ZDnet article, Cook believes that over time the iPad will come to dominate not only Macs but Windows PCs as well, in what he describes as "cannibalization." It's no surprise that iPads will overtake Macs, since the company can do a great deal to make its tablet offerings more desirable than its own desktop options. But Cook also says, "[There] is more cannibalization of Windows PCs by the iPad [...] you can see it beginning to appear virtually everywhere."

To a casual onlooker in the business world, this assertion makes sense; many SMBs run on Windows PCs but will give employees a tablet to work from home or access the network as needed when out of the office. Right now, Windows doesn't have a strong tablet presence in the market, and iPads are becoming more business friendly, but regardless of what type of tablet SMBs choose to use, it's a big claim that mobile devices are really going to outstrip PCs. Is Cook's recipe half-baked?

The Developing Market

A January 25, 2012 article, eWeek examines the technological divide between SMBs in developing countries and those in developed nations such as the United States and Great Britain. While businesses in countries with higher overall development typically have better technology infrastructure, studies show that SMBs in developing countries are closing the gap by leveraging employee-owned items such as mobile phones or by providing workers with tablets to allow easier network access. Despite potential security issues, the use of personal mobile technology is on the rise in developing nations like Brazil and China.

Tablets are mobile and easy to configure, and they allow almost instant access to wireless networks with the right permissions, meaning that integration in an SMB is almost effortless. That developing nations are using them as a shortcut to support business growth is no surprise and helps bolster Tim Cook's declaration: Perhaps tablets will become the dominant force in both business and the consumer world.

Tablet Futures

There are still a number of benefits PCs offer over wireless, mobile devices including heightened security and greater control over network administration, especially at a local level. But for many SMBs entering the technology market, an in-house database may seem a daunting and expensive venture when virtualized options are available and networks are easily accessed at the tap of a finger. While Cook may be premature in predicting his company's success in the tablet market, there is little question that tablets as a class of technology are rapidly becoming the business norm instead of the exception.