Half of the 1,200 surveyed said they plan to deploy at least one iPad application for their business users in the next year, Reed said.

Of the 1,165 in the survey, 68% were from large companies with more than 1,500 workers, he said.

Maribel Lopez, an analyst at Lopez Research, said the BoxTone survey validates what she has heard from companies about the value of the iPad. Easy-on capabilities make it faster to get information and take actions, which can improve customer service, she noted.

Health care and retail businesses have been the , but the types of ,a href="http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9187538/Baron_analysts_using_iPads_over_fast_802.11n_network">businesses using the iPad is broad, analysts said.

Reed said the iPad was early to market, which is always an advantage for newer technologies. Because of that, he said, devices such as the Galaxy Tab computer and a variety of other Android devices will probably do well, but will likely be behind the iPad for some time. "IPad is here now," he noted. "They caught the wave, and in some ways made the wave."