What's Your Tablet Sign?

By Jessica Binns, Contributing Editor
CDW recently surveyed organizations from healthcare, higher education, state and local governments, and medium and large enterprises about tablets in the workplace. The technology firm took things one step further, creating a "tablet horoscope" and identifying how users of a certain sign leverage their slates.

Not surprisingly, more than half (56%) of respondents say they've been using their tablets for a year; only 9% have had their business tablet for three years.

While corporate-owned tablets dominate the landscape at 59%, a full third (34%) of those surveyed say their tablets belong to them, furthering underscoring the BYOD movement. Seven percent say the device is owned by both the user and the enterprise.

According to the survey, tablet users "can't live without" email and web browsing on their devices; feature such as photo and video editing don't contribute much to their business productivity, they indicate. Tablets are best used for information access on the fly. Respondents also say that the devices make their work processes more enjoyable, and to a lesser extent, tablets help to improve collaboration with colleagues.

A surprising 22% of respondents use a basic cell phone in addition to their tablet. Fifty-three percent supplement their tablet with a smartphone; 2% use no other devices beyond their tablet (perhaps they make calls with Skype or Facetime?).

Addressing managers' fears that tablets are more distraction than business enhancers, CDW delved into how, exactly, the devices improve workers' productivity. Tablet users say they gain 1.1 hours of daily productivity by using the devices, and 26% of their overall computing time is spent on their tablets. The devices make them better multitaskers, according to 84% of respondents.

Tablet Astrology
In its survey, CDW asked respondents about their astrological signs to see if there was some sort of correlation between how certain types used their tablets. What do you think?

According to the results, Cancers are good collaborators and use their tablets to benefit customer service, while "practical" Leos leverage the devices to improve their workflow. On the other hand, "independent" Scorpios get creative with their tablet use, and Geminis, who like to travel, indicate that tablets help them stay engaged during meetings.

Get the full survey details and horoscopes here.