IDC just upped its estimated to global tablet sales for 2012…again.  In March, IDC raised its estimate by 21% to 106 million units and now has raised it again to 107.4 million units just three months later. Analysts of all stripes underestimated the demand for iPads and Kindle Fires in Q4 2011 and again for the new iPad launched in March.

What is even more interesting is what this analysis predicts for Apple. Through the end of 2011, Apple CEO Tim Cook said 55 million iPads had shipped since inception. IDC is estimating a 62.5% tablet market share for iPads which translates into 67.1 million iPads to be sold in 2012. That means Apple would sell 22% more iPads this year than in the previous two years combined. Of course, Apple Insider reported that Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster predicted in March that iPad sales could reach 66 million for the year, so IDC is not alone in its optimism.

IDC released its revision in advance of Microsoft’s Surface tablet announcement Monday. However, IDC did acknowledge that it expects the,

…huge marketing blitz from Microsoft around Windows 8 to drive increased consumer interest in the category through the end of the year.

iPad Dominance and the Enterprise

In an era of consumerization of IT (CoIT) and corporate Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) programs, the iPad’s runaway success is important for the enterprise to acknowledge. We know for sure that iPads will be numerous in the enterprise. IDG reported in January that 91% of business professionals with iPads use them for work. This will certainly translate into more than 100 million business iPad users by the end of 2012.

Datamation’s Nathan Clevenger had a great article last year where he reported that over 50% of the Fortune 500 had iPads in use on their corporate networks within 90 days of the initial product launch. The retelling of Accenture’s introduction to the iPad by CIO Frank Modruson is priceless:

The day the iPad was introduced we had some discussions about adding them into our environment; 24 hours later, we had 500 devices accessing e-mails.

There may well be a place for the Microsoft Surface in the enterprise as a tablet or even a laptop replacement. However, it is certain that employees have and will continue to make a place for the iPad.

What do you think about the iPad in the enterprise?  Comment below.

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