Gartner has also suggested that Android-powered tablets use will reach 36% by 2015, with grabbing 10.5% share in 2015. This might be true in consumer markets, but with Windows already the OS vendor of choice for business users, Gartner could have it wrong. On introduction of tablets later this year (tablets which will likely include integrated devices from Nokia), many corporates may take a look at a Microsoft alternative, assuming Apple hasn't grown to completely dominate mind share.

That will guarantee some presence for such devices among many business users, but BYOD trends will continue to favor the Apple option. With Apple offering a high-quality curated and relatively secure environment and Microsoft offering a business-focused alternative, it is Android-powered tablets which will feel the pinch.

IMS Research predicts a waning of the power of Android within the enterprise, observing this of the iPad competition: "Of these, the Kindle Fire from Amazon and several Windows 8 tablets, which will be released in late 2012, are forecast to be most successful. However, to date there is no significant threat to the iPad's continued dominance in the tablet market. In fact, the share of Android tablets is forecast to fall from 35 percent in 2011 to 26 percent in 2012. These tablets have struggled to compete with the user experience offered by the iPad and most future Android tablets are expected to target the low cost side of the market."

This means, for CFOs and CIOs considering tablet deployment, that the prevailing group wisdom seems to favor looking to Microsoft and Apple for an enterprise class solution.