Model Metrics, a provider of services at the cutting edge of cloud computing, recently sponsored a Dimensional Research survey on iPad and tablet adoption in the Enterprise. It was a good project with a fun topic and the chance to work with great client. It also demonstrated very clearly the importance of knowing how your audience uses vocabulary.
Consider the following two findings from the survey:
- 22% of IT professionals reported having officially deployed tablets
- 72% have tablets in use for business purposes in the enterprise
If you don’t know the language of corporate IT, this probably doesn’t make sense. How can there be iPads in use for business purposes when they haven’t been deployed yet?
The answer is in the word “officially.” One of the most interesting findings of the study is that employees are purchasing iPads or other tablets on their own, then bringing them to work, and IT has to support them. IT hasn’t deployed the iPads “officially,” but they have to support them anyway.
A great example of how words matter in market research. You can read more about the Model Metrics study here, or download the full report here.