Think back a few years ago before the Apple ipad (if you are in the medical field, there is a good chance you'll relate to this). Remember back when "tablet" computers were essentially laptops sans-keyboard with little plastic styluses? Now kindergarteners are using tablets instead of chalk boards. What happened?

Despite rocky economic situations all over the world, the consumer electronics market has been teeming with new gadgets and innovations. Over the past five years we've seen an explosion in the smartphone and high-end mobile device market, a social media revolution that has changed the way businesses reach out to customers, and now people (not just technophiles) are ditching their laptops for 10-inch tablets. If this hasn't changed the way you do business yet, it will.

The three big shifts mentioned above are partially all related. Social media has been a big deal for years, but creative companies have been constantly tinkering with new ideas to make it work for them. Globally, about one out of every seven human beings is on Facebook and more than a third of those users use Facebook mobile. Since Apple kick-started the tablet market with the original ipad two years ago, tablets have made an impressive comeback. It's estimated that total tablet sales will reach 118.9 million units in 2012, which is a 98% increase from 2011.

The icing on the cake, however, is that by 2014 (if not sooner) it is predicted that mobile internet usage will surpass traditional internet usage. People are using their devices everywhere; reading reviews for products at the store, checking into locations, and of course, communicating with the people they know. Heck, over 80% of tablet owners use their tablets while watching television. We've slipped into the dawn of a new era as significant as the industrial revolution.

Businesses are seeing this shift as well. More businesses are adopting and encouraging the use of mobile devices. Some businesses even offer smartphones and data plans as a perk for employees, and for good reason. Mobile devices such as high-end tablets are an attractive addition to your workforce's toolset. Businesses use mobile devices for checking email, sales support, presentations in the field, and remote work. Solutions like cloud-hosted desktop even gives employees access to all of their business-line applications and files right on their tablet or smartphone. This leads to a more productive mobilized workforce, which is becoming increasingly important.

Has your business implemented tablets and other mobile devices into your day-to-day? Have any of your employees started to bring in their own tablets? Reach out to Network Synergy by giving us a call at (203) 261-2201 to talk about how to strategically modernize your business and mobilize your workforce.