Credit union IT shops may well find themselves supporting iPad and other tablet users sooner rather than later.
That's according to a Forrester Research report which notes that more than 3 million iPads have been sold already and predicts that it and competing tablets will reach 59 million units in the U.S. by 2015.
"With an all-day battery life, a seductive form factor and user experience and a rapidly expanding portfolio of business applications (although missing Microsoft Office), iPad has captivated consumers and employees alike," the think firm says in the new report, titled "How iPads Enter the Workforce."
With Cisco, Google, Dell, Samsung, RIM, HP and others joining the fray, the Forrester report said, "these post-PC devices will find a place in your company, but where?"
Based on interviews with dozens of companies, Forrester puts the use of tablets into three categories: displacing laptops, replacing clipboards and all-new uses.
An example of the latter: "A small-non profit Forrester spoke with just collected $1,400 from running race registrants and corporate sponsors in the middle of a field in Massachusetts using a 3G-enabled iPad and a simple Web form," said report author Ted Schadler. "Anywhere access now means anywhere philanthropy, too."
