iPass had an insightful explanation for why consumer-oriented devices such as the iPad were gaining such traction by business users: It's the apps that determine whether a device is business or consumer, not the device itself. Because iPads and other slates can run a variety of apps, they can be used for a variety of purposes, no matter what they're marketed for.
Plus, the basic apps that come with smartphones and tablets are inherently dual-purpose. The iPass survey found that, across the board, most respondents were using email, calendar, text messaging, browsing, and other applications for both work and personal use on their smartphones. The only exception was social media, which was primarily accessed for personal use.
Add the facts that the idea of personal/business divisions are largely going away in the smartphone world, and that those divisions have been severely weakened even on PCs thanks to the widespread "work at home" phenomenon. The iPass survey says that 94.4 percent of those polled already use their smartphones for both work and personal reasons. Those realities and changes in attitude give more impetus to people using devices as they see fit, in all sorts of contexts.
This article, "iPads are about to pour into your business," was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Read more of Gruman et al.'s Mobile Edge blog and follow the latest developments in mobile technology at InfoWorld.com.