iOS Used Dominantly In The Corporate World, Per Survey By Piper Jaffray

In the corporate world, iOS is king. Well, at least based on a survey conducted by investment firm Piper Jaffray.

Piper Jaffray asked 112 corporate information officers (CIOs) regarding what mobile platform they are currently using. According to the firm's survey, 98 percent of the CIOs favored using iOS for business. Furthermore, 89 percent of them stated that they provide iOS devices for their employees. The survey covers the use of both iPhones and iPads in corporate settings.

Piper Jaffray's findings also indicate that 79 percent of the CIOs surveyed said that they support Android, 58 percent support Windows, and 24 percent support BlackBerry. Additionally, 57 percent said they provide Android handsets to their staff, 30 percent provide Windows devices, and 25 percent provide BlackBerry handsets.

The survey's findings should be welcome news to Apple. The tech giant is currently making an effort to capture more customers from the business/corporate segment. Last year in July, Apple struck a partnership with IBM in developing applications that are business-oriented as they are user-friendly. For its part, IBC will also be selling business tech solutions that include iPhones and iPads tweaked for corporate use. As recently as last month in December, Apple and IBM had already announced the first few apps of their corporate line of products.

Other findings of Piper Jaffray's survey suggest that corporate users are more likely to buy mobile devices from a single supplier. 

With regards to how well tablets are being used in corporate settings, the survey's findings suggest that corporate users are a tad slow in adopting these mobile devices. In last year's survey, 60 percent of business organizations expect to use tablets in offices. This year, it is down to 50 percent. Still, Piper Jaffray analysts expect tablet adoption to improve over time as more and more enterprises deploy tablets for day-to-day operations.

Piper Jaffray's survey also highlights the difference between the corporate world and the consumer world. When it comes to consumers, the Android platform takes a commanding lead in market share not only in the United States, but also globally. Now contrast that in the corporate setting, wherein iOS is the undisputed preferred platform used by most organizations. 

The disparity is not that surprising. Android, after all, runs on a very wide range of phone brands, from Samsung to LG, from Motorola to HTC. iOS on the other hand is rather limited to Apple devices. But iOS has been more proactive in serving enterprises (Apple's partnership with IBC is definitely proof of that).