We have been involved with the Enterprise Mobile Apps scene from its early days, and its amazing to see the growth in this space as more and more companies embrace mobile technology to empower and mobilise its systems (and people).

Either as a cost-saving or as a sales-acceleration, the enterprise mobile apps story is getting interesting. Just look at some of these news blurbs below that we have been tracking:

Apple CEO Tim Cook announces 92% of Fortune 500 are trying out the iPad.

Adoption by sector:
Financial service firms are the most likely to adopt the iPad – 36.8% of its customers iPad deployments are in financial services companies. Technology clocks in at 11.4%, and the healthcare industry lands at 10.5%.

Here’s a useful chart from Good Technology explaining iPad usage by industry:

Other interesting trends around devices (its mostly iPads!):

While iPad has been the clear leader in the Enterprise Mobile Apps game so far (estimates suggest over 96% market share), there are a couple issues that make other Android (or WP8) powered tablets also interesting. Most important issues with the iPad:

1. Cost — its still an expensive device compared to base level Android tablets like Amazon Fire or the Nook

2. Limited customisation — Apple has strict rules about what can and cannot be done on the iPad, so Enterprises sometimes cannot overwrite or rebrand core features. In that sense Android again has an advantage

3. Still a personal device — Many argue that the iPad is still a consumer focussed device with entertainment and fun apps. While these can be turned off (Configuration Profile), the other tablets (especially WP8) are going to be more “corporate” in their approach. This almost is going back to the Mac vs. Windows argument for enterprise where as we know Microsoft is the clear winner.

In summary, dont write off Android tablets or WP8 tablets when they launch. No one knows the Enterprise game better than Microsoft and their recent WP8 offering is very good and many would argue, its ideal for enterprise.

Please feel free to share your thoughts or pop us a visit if your company is considering enterprise mobile apps and need a sounding board. FabriQate is a dedicated mobile technology company and we have deep expertise in enterprise mobile apps for several Fortune 500 clients including handling the essential security issues.

Finally, the infographic that says it all: