The vital ingredient in any deployment (once security is ensured through a good choice of device security vendor) will be the apps: do businesses choose off-the-shelf apps, or do they develop their own in-house?

In-house app development -- at least for larger firms -- seems to be a good way forward in order that firms can guarantee security, reliability and network compatibility. Ovum believes businesses should .

Analyst Richard Absalom says: "Providing a range of customized applications that make use of tablet functionalities for employees in specific job roles is a good way to gain maximum value from tablets. The growing use of in-house app stores indicates that more and more companies are going down this custom development route."

The analysts don't always get it right. They still believe that tablets aren't built for productivity. But the anticipated introduction of versions of Office for tablet devices will change that in a single moment.