As corporate adoption of Apple's iPad tablet continues to ratchet up to light speed in Australia, analyst firm Gartner has issued a sharp warning to chief executives to grab the iPad opportunity now with both hands and discuss the device's 'disruptive' capabilities with their chief information officers and other divisions of their organisations.
A large number of Australian organisations are currently conducting corporate trials of the iPad, with the technology simultaneously hitting a variety of sectors.
Education departments around Australia are conducting trials of the tablet within schools. For example, the University of Adelaide will distribute iPads free of charge to first-year science students in lieu of textbooks. The device has also seen interest from health departments.
In addition, the iPad is seeing strong adoption at the board level in corporations and even in politics. For instance, Westpac chief information officer Bob McKinnon recently revealed the bank's senior leadership team uses iPads in its meetings to share information. A number of politicians '” such as Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull and new Labor MP Ed Husic '” are even using the device in the Federal Parliament.
According to Gartner, chief executive officers don't normally get involved in specific technology device decisions. But in a research note issued today, the analyst firm said CEOs should make an exception for the iPad.
