Though many small and medium businesses (SMBs) have not yet adopted tablets, the presence of an eco-system of apps could prove beneficial to them, said a researcher with market advisory firm Zinnov.
“A lot of SMBs are tech ready and may find the tablet to be an affordable solution. However, the apps are not there,” said Mr Kishan Bhat, Engagement Manager, Zinnov.
Zinnov recently released a report that said that India's domestic IT spend would reach $36 billion by 2015, growing at a CAGR of 12 per cent. The study also found that IT adoption in SMB segment is growing at 15 per cent and expected to reach $15 billion by 2015.
One issue could be because many SMBs are not aware of the potential of a tablet – many have seen touch phones but not tablets, but Mr Bhat said that if they could be made aware of the capabilities, they would adopt tablets, which in turn would drive apps.
He said that tablets could be used in a retail point of sale terminal, with the tablet syncing to the cloud for data sharing.
“Other apps include usage in a 50-bed hospital for patient monitoring and as a teaching aid in schools, where at least the teacher uses a tablet to train students,” he said.