“As technology shifts from personal computers to smartphones and tablets, Apple Inc. is expanding its reach into a lucrative customer base: companies,” Daisuke Wakabayashi reports for The Wall Street Journal.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple iPads and iPhones are personal computers.
“The popularity of the iPhone and iPad among employees is prompting corporate tech managers to rewrite policies and change traditional buying patterns. The iPhone has replaced the BlackBerry as the mobile phone of choice, as the iPad assumes tasks once reserved for PCs,” Wakabayashi reports. “Apple won about 8% of global business and government spending on computers and tablets in 2012, Forrester Research says, up from 1% in 2009. By 2015, Forrester estimates that figure will climb to 11%. The numbers exclude the iPhone, which may be the most widely purchased Apple product by corporate customers. It is often Apple’s gateway into a business.”
“When business apps are offered on phones or tablets, they are overwhelmingly on Apple devices. More than 90% of all business apps were deployed on Apple’s iOS mobile-operating system in the third quarter, according to Good Technology, which provides mobile-security software and tracks mobile-device use by more than 5,000 corporate customers,” Wakabayashi reports. “Retail is another key niche for Apple devices. Nordstrom Inc. has deployed more than 24,000 iPads and iPod Touch units at its 261 stores, replacing some point-of-sale machines.”
“Alex and Ani, a Cranston, R.I., jewelry chain known for its bangle bracelets, late in 2012 replaced laptops running a Web-based payment system with a custom-made app for the iPod Touch inside a special ‘sled’ that houses the device. Employees at Alex and Ani’s 37 stores use the app to print out receipts, scan bar codes and look up customer information. The app also connects with the company’s business software to keep track of inventory,” Wakabayashi reports. “In the busy days before Mother’s Day 2012, shoppers waited up to an hour at its flagship Cranston outlet, said Joe Lezon, the company’s chief technology officer. After deploying the Apple devices, the wait times on Mother’s Day this year dropped to less than 10 minutes even as same-store revenue doubled, Mr. Lezon said.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
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