Tablets Not a Threat to PCs on Enterprise Level, Dell Study Says

With how quickly slates have been growing in sales, analysts began to look at their potential effect on the enterprise market, but it looks like said effect may be insignificant if a study by Dell is to be believed.

There is no question as to whether or not tablets have begun to transform the consumer PC industry, what with them affecting laptop sales quite visibly already.

Netbooks have been seeing the worst of it, so to speak, being entry-level machines, so they had to get cheaper, to the point where they sell for under even $200, or will soon enough.

Meanwhile, it has been said, repeatedly, that the tablet from factor is gaining traction on the enterprise segment as well.

Dell was not convinced, so it took it upon itself to conduct a study, one that led to the conclusion that the PC is not being replaced in this field.

Granted, tablets have their benefits or they would not have come to be so popular in such short a time.

However, the assumption that they could ever truly replace PCs is one that is more than a little far fetched, not just because of performance and feature set issues, but also security and management.

While tablets could definitely boost productivity, on top of featuring a nice level of flexibility and mobility, they would need new management and security challenges.

“They can replace paper-based systems and introduce new productivity places, but this only makes them a companion device, not a replacement for existing PCs,” says Dell's Paul D'Arcy in a blog post.

“Tablets bring with them new complexities, and add another layer of challenges for IT managers who are faced with embracing a steep consumerization curve in the enterprise.

Basically, while tablets could act as a nice complement or supplement at the workplace, desktops, notebooks and smartphones remain the so-called 'must-have” devices.